Rifts and Changes
by The Dragon Spooker
Summary: Peace never lasts long in the DBZ universe. A secret has been kept for ten years and now everyone will be demaning answers. What was so horrible that Gohan had to keep a secret? CHAPTER 19! THE LAST CHAPTER! happy dance
1. It Begins

Rifts and Changes 

**Chapter One: It Begins…**

A/N: Okay peoples, this is the big cheese. The head honcho…none of those references apply to the fact that this is the big one. This story will be the longest I have written and everything else will have to take a back seat…that and the fact that I just finished college and I have months until school ^_^

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There was an enormous buzz of energy on the giant vessel. Men and women were running around organising different things and making the last checks before they reached their destination. The captain, however, was not excited like the rest of the people on his ship. On the contrary, he was a mixture of serenity, anger and anticipation. This was the moment he had been waiting for. All those years of training, mentally preparing, all the sacrifices would today finally pay off. The captain was a rather large man, who looked like he was in his late twenties, early thirties. No one would have expected a man who looked that young to be such an important figure. He had broad shoulders, fairly built and a height of six feet. He had short sandy coloured hair and green eyes that looked like jewels. He was the kind of man that everyone was afraid of, because of those sharp green eyes. He was in deep thought as he looked out the window of his chambers, but a knocking at the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in." His deep voice rumbled. A young man, who looked like a teenager, walked in. The captain smiled. "You have good news for me boy?"

"Yessir," The kid uttered as he handed the captain a file. The captain quickly read over the file and smirked.

"How long?"

"One plocad approximately."

"Perfect. Everything is going to schedule." The captain smiled as the kid left his chambers. "Now we shall see who is superior, half breed."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Lookout, Earth… 

"I hope Goku and Vegeta get here quickly. The news I need to tell them is urgent." Dende said, pacing back and forth. Goku and Vegeta soon landed on the lookout and stood in front of Dende.

"What's up Dende?" Goku asked.

"I am so sorry to trouble you in these times of peace Goku but there is a great danger headed towards Earth." Dende said.

"How great exactly?" Vegeta asked. "Because I'm about due for a good fight."

"That's the thing, I am not sure." Dende said, his forehead creased in worry.

"Some guardian…" Vegeta muttered.

"I can sense that their chi is great, but nowhere as strong as yours." Dende said. "But I contacted Kaio-sama and he said that they have other abilities. He has no idea what they are though, since they are not from this quadrant of the universe."

"So, it's basically brains versus brawn we're looking at here right? I mean, if they don't have a high chi they probably have mental abilities or possibly magic. Or they could be suppressing their chi…" Goku said, pondering. 

"Well, we'd better tell the boys that vacation is over." Vegeta said smirking.

Meanwhile, on Earth… 

"Listen Trunks, it's probably nothing." Goten said, talking to his best friend on his cell. "Have you checked to see if Bra and Pan…? I mean, that's what happened the last time…don't yell, I'm serious!" Goten stopped looking where he was going and bumped into someone. They both ended up on the floor. "I'll call you back Trunks. I am so sorry Miss. Are you okay?"

"I'd be perfectly fine if you'd watch where you were going instead of talking on the phone." The woman replied. Goten frowned.

"It was an accident, no need to be…snappy…" Goten took a minute to look her over. He had to fight off the goofy grin on his face as he looked at her. _**She's so beautiful…she looks kind of familiar…**_ "Look, I am really sorry. I promise I'll look where I am going next time." He smiled. The woman looked a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry to snap, I have a bad habit of doing that." The woman smiled. Goten held out his hand and helped her up. "Thank you…"

"Uh, Goten. Son Goten." Goten said. The woman looked at him with wide eyes. Her face blushed crimson and she found herself laughing softly.

"Oh my God. I can't believe it's you." She smiled. "It's been so long. And you…wow! Heh, oy what a dorky thing to say huh?"

"You're gonna kill me, but I can't remember you. I'm ashamed to say that I can't remember someone so beautiful."

"You're cheesy one liners aren't gonna get you off the hook Spikes."

"CJ?!"

"In the flesh." CJ said. Goten embraced her. Goten didn't notice CJ sigh blissfully. "I guess it has been that long." Goten looked into her eyes.

"Sorry for flirting with you." Goten smiled.

"No problem, it didn't bother me." CJ said, and turned away embarrassed. "So, what brings you to South City? Shopping for the wife?"

"No, just shopping." Goten said, pausing slightly. "Paresu and I are divorced." 

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. We're still friends, not a real bitter divorce."

"Only you could get divorced and be friends with your ex. You're something else Son Goten."

"All these compliments, you're gonna make me blush."

"You already are."

"Hehe, ahem. Um, would you, um…" Goten was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. "Sorry. Hello? Dad, what's the matter? Are you sure? Look, if it's not that urgent…I'll come over later. I bet Kaasan will be happy…I'm sorry I shouldn't joke. Okay, bye. So, where were we?"

"You were going to ask me something?" CJ replied. Goten immediately blushed.

"I was wondering if you'd want to go get something to eat or drink? Whichever is fine, I mean, if you want to go so we can catch up or whatever…" Goten babbled. CJ took his hands, which were dramatically waving all over the place, in her hands and laughed softly.

"Sure."

"Really?"

"Of course. We haven't seen each other in ages. And I'm about due for lunch anyway." CJ replied. Goten grinned the Son Grin™ and they both walked into a café.

"How have you been?" Goten asked. "We haven't seen each other since Marron and Trunks' wedding."

"That's true." CJ said, sipping her water. "I've been okay. Still running my father's business with Brian."

"And your sisters still aren't helping."

"They can barely stand on their own two feet without asking someone for help, let alone take on responsibility like that." CJ kept sipping her water to stop herself from looking at Goten too intently, of course not that Goten would have noticed because he was too busy staring at her. He laughed at her comment and she had to stop herself from blushing, her legs giving way and sighing out loud all at the same time. She loved how he laughed. It was so carefree and sincere, not a half-assed laugh that is put on to be polite. She kept questioning herself, asking why she had this attraction to him all of a sudden. Had she been listening to her common sense instead, she would have realised that she felt this way about him ever since they were kids. She just didn't know it at the time.

"Guess it's pretty harsh."

"Not especially. I get some nice perks and at least now I feel like I'm earning the clothes on my back. Enough of me babbling, your turn."

"I'm still head chef at the restaurant. Divorced, as I already told you. That's about it."

"Why am I not so sure?"

"I dunno, you know me too well?"

"Hn. Okay, so you don't wanna talk about you. How is everyone else?"

"Trunks is still crazy but Marron's keeping him in check. I haven't seen any of the other guys since I last saw you so your guess is as good as mine." Goten gulped down half of his cappuccino.

"You still have that massive appetite?"

"Some things don't ever change Ceej." Goten said. For a moment, he found himself staring at her and he couldn't tear his eyes away. Even though she had matured a lot, her eyes were still full of that spark he remembered so well. He found himself smiling. She laughed softly.

"What are you staring at?" CJ asked.

"Something absolutely beautiful." He muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing! Hehe." Goten rubbed the back of his head with his hand, in true Son fashion. CJ just shook her head. He silently counted his blessings. If she had heard him, their friendship would be over. She would never feel the same way about him, so why was he letting himself fall for her all over again? Then again, it wouldn't hurt to find out what her position on the matter was. "Say, do you ever wonder if things had happened differently where we'd be today?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well, like if Tak hadn't shot up 3 feet would he be married to Jules? Or if no one had introduced Remy to comics, would she still be working in the industry?" Goten said, before pausing slightly. "Or if I had told you how I felt when I had the chance, would things be any different between us?" CJ looked up at Goten, slightly surprised.

"I guess, we can't really know if it's in the past right?" CJ said. Goten looked slightly disappointed and CJ felt a twinge of guilt. She hated to see him sad, it made her feel ten times worse. "But I do think that everything happens for a reason. If Tak and Jules got married then that means they were destined to be together, no matter if Tak grew or not."

"What about me?" Goten asked, not taking his eyes off her.

"Well, um, I guess that you and Paresu were meant to be together for some time but fate decided that…there was someone else out there for the both of you." CJ said, making sure to choose her words very carefully.

"Fate likes me very much." Goten smiled. CJ blushed slightly and was about to press on with the conversation when Goten's cell rang. "But my family doesn't seem to. Hello? Yes Tousan, I haven't forgotten. I'm on my way right now." He hung up. "I'm so sorry I can't stay longer."

"It's okay, you got family stuff." CJ smiled. Goten got up to go. "Um, Goten? I really had fun today. You wanna meet up again?" Goten had to fight off the urge to jump up in the air out of happiness. Luckily, he managed to pull of a suave

"Sure, I'd like that." Goten said. They exchanged numbers and Goten left. Unknowingly, when they were out of each other's sight, they both sighed blissfully.

At the Son House… 

"Okay, we're going to treat this like any other threat." Goku said, as he finished telling everyone else about what Dende had said. "But we cannot rely on strength alone. They may have mental techniques so we need to be quick on the draw and not be hesitant to improvise when needed." Goten sheepishly walked in and sat down next to his brother. Goku and Vegeta had assembled everyone they could find, as fighters or anyone with a chi higher than a normal human being were likely to be targeted. Sitting in the living room were Trunks, Gohan, Videl, Krillin, #18 and Yamcha. Tien could not be found, but Dende had assured Goku that he would work on it. "Well, that's all I can really say at the moment. Goten, ask one of these guys to fill you in."

"Okay one of you guys, fill me in." Goten asked, with a sheepish smile. Everyone got up, making various excuses while Goten sat there sweat-dropping.

"C'mon, I'll fill you in." Trunks said, as they walked outside. "But first, you gotta tell me who you were out with for so long today."

"What makes you think I was out with anyone today?" Goten asked defensively.

"Because you're face is so red it could rival a tomato." Trunks said grinning.

"Okay, firstly that joke was lame." Goten said. "I was out with an old friend."

"Well any old friend of yours is one of mine."

"CJ."

"You naughty, naughty boy." Trunks teased, in a mock English accent. Goten blushed.

"Shut up!"

Elsewhere… 

"Gohan, do you think that it could be…" Videl asked.

"I don't think so Videl. They haven't been back in years. If they wanted to exact revenge, they had the perfect chance to at the time to." Gohan said. "I don't want you worrying about it anymore. You just stopped worrying about it not too long ago."

"What about you? Aren't you worried?"

"Yes. But that's because it's my job. I'm the designated worrier in the family." Gohan said. Videl smiled and hugged him.

"What would I do without you?"

"Go crazy and marry Sharpener."

"Now you're the one making Sharpener jokes?" Videl asked. Gohan chuckled. "Do you think we should at least tell the others?"

"Yeah, they deserve to know."

A week later… 

"Come on Uncle Goten, take a break!" Pan yelled. "Dinner is ready!"

"I'll be in later Pan!" Goten called back. "I am way behind everyone else in training. I need to focus."

"Actually Goten, it's very much behind not way behind."

"Huh?" Goten turned around to see CJ standing in his back yard. "Hi!"

"Hey." CJ replied. She tried to come out with more things to say but she couldn't stop staring at Goten. _**Why is he not wearing a shirt?! It is very distracting! A good kind of distracting…no, don't stare! He'll know you're checking him out!**_

"How'd you find my house?" Goten asked. He looked at CJ's facial expression and laughed inwardly. _**She's checking me out! Hmm, maybe I should play this up a little…**_

"I've been here before, remember?" CJ replied.

"Oh yeah…so, what brings you here?" Goten asked, as he started doing stretches. CJ tried to fight off the blush on her face as she stared at the floor.

"You said you wanted to talk to me. You sounded pretty worried." CJ said.

"Oh right. Well, something's come up and I don't know if I'll be able to spend any time with you." Goten said. He saw the hurt expression on her face and he immediately felt guilty. "CJ you know about my secret."

"Yeah, your special powers." CJ said. "Have you got official saving the world business?"

"Something is coming to attack Earth." Goten said. "I don't know if they're a danger or not but you can't be around here. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"What about you?" CJ said. "Will you be okay?"

"I don't know. We have no idea how powerful they are. We don't even know who they are. They could very well kill me." Goten said.

"Don't talk like that." CJ said.

"I'm just telling you it's a possibility." Goten said.

"A very slim one." CJ said. "You're a strong person Goten and you have a lot to live for. You can't go into a battle thinking you are going to die, because if you do you surely will die."

"Wow, that's deep."

"Sensei Krillin taught me that. He's a very wise man Goten." There was a brief silence.

"I don't have someone to come back home to."

"What do you mean? You have your family."

"Yeah, but I mean…you know what I mean. Trunks has Marron. Gohan has Videl. Heck, my dad has my mom. Everyone has someone but me."

"Well, that's why you can't die. You still need to find her." CJ said smiling. She found herself scanning him again, blushed and quickly cast her look downwards. Goten laughed inwardly again.

"Yeah, you're right." Goten said. _**She is still totally checking me out! Oh, why not? I like to have my fun.** _He walked closer to her and hugged her. "Thanks for the pep talk Ceej."

"Ahem, yeah! Hehe, don't mention it!" CJ squeaked. _**Ohmigosh…ohmigosh…ohmigosh…**_ "I gotta get going Goten, I'll see you later." _**He's doing this on purpose! Well, two can play at that game!**_ CJ leaned over and kissed his cheek. Goten blushed a deep red and waved stupidly as she walked away.

"That girl is gonna be the end of me!" Goten sighed happily.

Meanwhile, in South City… 

"Are you serious?" David asked, his wife sat next to him. Their three children were in the living room watching television. The eldest, Claudia, was sixteen years old. She was as beautiful as her mother and had her temperament to boot. She had sandy coloured hair. Then there were the ten-year-old twins, Adrian and Daniel. They had chestnut brown hair and often finished each others' sentences.

"Dead serious David. We don't know if it's them…" Gohan said.

"It can't be them Gohan, there's the fact that you…"

"I know. I don't want to be reminded thank you."

"Sorry. Maybe one of them got away, and got back to…"

"That would make sense…" Gohan said, pondering. "Then that probably means…"

"Yeah it does." Andrea said. "Have you told…?"

"Yes."

"And does…?"

"No, still doesn't know."

"Boy, I don't wanna be there when the shit hits the fan. I can just see the Wolverine berserker rage coming into play!" David said. "I wish we had…"

"It was for the best David." Videl said. David sighed.

"I hope you're right. Last thing I wanna hear is, 'You got guts! Too bad they're gonna be all over the floor bub!' Last time I heard that, it gave me nightmares!"

To Be Continued…

Well, there's the beginning of the big ass story. Don't worry, there is meant to be confusion! All will be explained.


	2. This is a very elaborate hoax or…I'd bet...

**Rifts and Changes**

Chapter Two: "This is a very elaborate hoax or…" Vegeta paused. "I'd better get Kakarrot on the phone."

Disclaimer: I only own characters and places that I made up, okay? Good! ^_^ I ain't making money off this you know!

A/N: Ooh, I'm so glad you guys liked the first chapter. Questions will be answered in due time, and Jason, I will be writing some more stories of the guys as kids but you'll have to wait until this is over. Let the confusion ensue!

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A month later … 

Trunks was busy in the kitchen when the phone started ringing. Trunks sighed and picked up the phone, mentally hoping it was not his father.

"Hello?"

"Hi Trunks, it's Goten."

"Hey, thank goodness. I thought it was gonna be my dad demanding that I stop being so weak and train."

"Actually, it's me asking if you wanna train." Goten laughed sheepishly. "You busy?"

"You know it's mine and Marron's wedding anniversary."

"No, it's not Trunks."

"Yes it is Goten, I think I'd remember my own wedding date."

"Trunks, you guys got married in the spring. It's August for goodness sakes."

"Hmm, then why is she so mad at me? I didn't forget the anniversary…"

"Maybe it's because you've been training and not paying attention to her."

"But I'm training to save the world!"

"Women are funny like that." Goten said. "Hey, if you're taking the night off then so can I."

"Great, my marriage dilemmas have become an excuse for you to play hooky." Trunks said, as he diced some onions. "Are you going to see a certain young business tycoon?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It's none of your beeswax what I do on my night off." Goten replied.

"Ooooh!"

"Trunks, if you cut the onions like that they lose all taste. I'll see you later."

"How did he…? Sometimes I worry about that boy." Trunks said, starting on a fresh onion.

Meanwhile, in a field near the mountains… 

"Time out!" Vegeta yelled. Goku looked at Vegeta with wide eyes.

"D-d-d-d-d-did you just ask for a time out?" Goku asked.

"No, I demanded a time out. There's a difference." Vegeta said. "Something's wrong with my leg."

"Oh you got a leg pain thingy!"

"Thank you for your diagnostic doctor."

"Gohan calls them a Charlie Horse. Although, I'm not sure why he felt the need to name it."

"It's the fault of this planet, I've spent too much time relaxing and playing happy families." Vegeta sighed.

"C'mon, you know you love living here. If you didn't, you would have left years ago."

"Sometimes you can come out with statements that actually make sense. It is in those moments that I question the state of the universe."

"Shut up!"

There was a brief silence.

"Do you think we're getting too old for this Kakarrot?"

"Nah. You're only as young as you feel. Chi-Chi's always cursing me for not looking a day older than 25."

"You lead a strange life Kakarrot."

At CC… 

"Trunks! What's the occasion?" Marron asked, as she looked at the lovely spread.

"No occasion, I just wanted to treat you." Trunks said, pulling out a chair so that Marron could sit down. He poured two glasses of champagne. "To you, my beautiful and understanding wife." They chinked glasses.

"Okay, now I'm nervous. What do you want me to be understanding about?"

"Honey, you know about this threat to the Earth."

"Yes."

"And I know that it's gotta be hard on you." Trunks said. "You've got to stay behind and just worry. I know it's not fair, I wish you didn't have to be in that position but I'd rather that you were instead of on the battle field."

"I know Trunks. It doesn't stop me from worrying about what's going to happen to you." Marron said. "I need to know that you're going to come back to me."

"As long as you believe in me, I will come back." Trunks said, taking her hand in his. "Nothing short of death can ever keep me away from you." Marron smiled.

Elsewhere… 

Goten looked at the hotel and took a deep breath. He was dressed in a black tuxedo but without a tie. His jacket was undone as was the top two buttons of his shirt.

"Okay Goten, this is it." He said, as he walked into the hotel and then to the banquet hall. He looked around and then he saw her. CJ. She was standing near the food table, talking to some official looking men. Her company was holding this banquet and Goten knew that he would find her here. Goten stopped walking for a moment to look her over. Her hair was up, with a few stands around her face. She was wearing a strapless burgundy dress and a smile so fake it looked like it was going to fall off her face. Goten took a deep breath again and walked towards her. He walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me?"

"Yes?" CJ said, as her fake smile turned into a genuine one. "Goten! Won't you excuse me gentlemen?" CJ walked away from the businessmen with Goten. "Thank you so much, I was dying over there."

"Yeah, you looked so bored." Goten smiled.

"You'd better be careful Goten, someone might think you were stalking me." CJ smiled.

"Not stalking, just casually running into each other."

"Yeah, like at my office?"

"At your bank, your front garden and at your country club. But hey, who's counting?" Goten said. CJ laughed.

"This is such a surprise, but a nice one. I mean, I'm glad you're here but why are you here?" CJ asked. Goten looked at her intently.

"I just had to see you one more time."

"Oh…" CJ smiled. "You look great by the way." Goten smirked slightly.

"Had to, since you look that beautiful. You do look beautiful by the way. I especially like that necklace. Guess I have good taste." Goten said. CJ blushed furiously. "I like this song, you wanna dance?" CJ nodded mindlessly. As they were dancing, Goten looked at CJ and could not stop staring at her. He found himself smiling and she looked at him and blushed.

"What is it Goten? You look as if you just saw the world's biggest pizza." CJ laughed. Goten moved in closer to her.

"I saw something more important than that."

"More important than food? Are you feeling okay?"

"Better than I've ever felt in my life. Funny how that happens whenever you're near me." Goten could feel his heart beating faster. He knew this was what he wanted to say but even he couldn't believe he was saying to this to her. CJ, the girl he had been in love with since he was a kid.

"Goten..." Was all CJ could say. She felt speechless. She had to stop from pinching herself. Was this really Goten? Was she just dreaming? She shook her head, in an attempt to wave away her soap opera-esque thoughts.

"Ceej, meeting up with you again after all these years...it's like it was meant to happen. I've been waiting for the longest time to tell you how I felt."

"I already knew."

"No, you heard from someone else. You don't know that every time I look at you the rest of the world goes fuzzy, and I feel like I could go on looking at you and see something more beautiful as I do. I like you a lot CJ, you know that. We never got to see what could have been between us because of circumstances at the time."

"Because you fell in love. With Paresu."

"Paresu was my wife. I cared for her very much, but never half of how much I care for you. All my old feelings for you are rushing back, and this time I'm not a little boy. I'm a grown man, and I'm going to deal with this maturely. I will not give up but I need to know, do you have any remote feelings for me? At all?"

"Goten, I..." Before CJ could say anything, one of her employees came up to the couple.

"Miss Fujitaka, there are some clients who want to talk to you. Should I ask your brother to fill in on this one or do you want to go?" CJ looked at Goten and then at the clients.

"Ask Brian to cover for me." CJ replied. "I need to talk to my friend."

"Yes Miss."

"Sorry about that." CJ said. Goten smiled.

"Don't worry about it." Goten replied.

"Goten, about what you said…"

"Sshh." He put his finger on her lips. "We can talk about that later. Let's just enjoy dancing for now." Goten said, as he put his arms around her and pulled her as close as was possible. To Goten's happiness, CJ did not resist. 

Next morning… 

"DAAAAAAAADDDYYYYYYYYYYY!!" A girl's voice yelled. Son Gohan moaned slightly and looked at his bedside clock. It was 7am. On a Sunday. No doubt, Gohan was going to lose his temper. He got up, put his glasses on and went downstairs. He looked into the living room and saw his son, Cory, chasing his daughter, Pan. Gohan sighed.

"Not again…" Gohan groaned. "CORY!!" Cory stopped dead in his tracks and a small grin appeared on his face.

"Hi Papa!" Cory smiled, the infamous Son Grin™. He was a carbon copy of his father, right down to the shaggy hair that Gohan had as a child.

"Are you terrorising your sister again?" Gohan asked.

"No, I'm just playing with her." Cory said.

"He is not!" Pan yelled. "He is chasing me with his mouth filled with choco puffs and he's threatening to spit them on me! Daddy!"

"Yes, I heard you sweetie." Gohan sighed. "Cory, no spitting food on your sister."

"Okay Papa."

"Pan, no yelling at 7am. Daddy is very tired."

"Okay Daddy." Gohan returned to his bedroom and got into besides his sleeping wife. He looked over at her and smiled. Suddenly, Videl's face started to twitch violently and she started muttering.

"No, get away from me! No…no…"

"Videl?" Gohan asked as he tried to wake her up. She sat upright and was breathing heavily. "Honey, are you okay?"

"No, I had this dream! And there were explosions and…oh god, everyone was dead." Videl said, as she sobbed into Gohan's chest. He did his best to soothe her.

"Don't worry honey, it's probably a déjà vu type dream. You've had dreams like this before…after…"

"I know, I remember." Videl said. "I'll be okay honey, you'd better get dressed."

"Okay, if you're sure you'll be okay." Gohan said. Videl nodded and Gohan went into the bathroom.

"I hope it was just a dream…" Videl sighed.

Capsule Corp… 

"Vegeta! You'd better come and take a look at this!" Bulma yelled.

"What is it woman?! I was having breakfast!" Vegeta asked, as he walked into the living room. Bulma pointed at the television, with a pale face. Vegeta looked at the television screen with wide eyes. "Holy shit…" The news channel was showing an amateur recording of the sky in Kenya. There were a lot of different coloured lights in the sky, and they were all aligned as if waiting for something to strike. To the average person of course it looked like an impressive lights show, but to the Prince of all the remaining Saiya-jins it was something completely different.

"What do you think it could be?" Bulma asked.

"A very elaborate hoax or…" Vegeta paused. "I'd better get Kakarrot on the phone."

At CC… 

"Is it serious?" Trunks asked. Goku was pacing the living room floor. Goten rushed in the door and sat on the couch with the others.

"Sorry, got here as fast as I could. What's the sitch?" Goten asked.

"Okay, I've called Gohan but he says he can't make it so we should go on without him." Goku said. "As far as we can assume right now, those lights on the news this morning aren't just lights. They are indeed spacecrafts."

"But how do we know if they're the guys Dende was talking about?" Krillin asked.

"If they were friendly there wouldn't be that many of them. They're not moving, which probably means they're waiting for orders or…" Vegeta said.

"Just waiting for the right time to attack." Goten finished. "Well, if they attack us we can take them right? I mean, it's not like it's gonna be a problem."

"You should never underestimate your enemy son." Goku said. "We all know what happens when you do that."

Meanwhile… 

"Sir, everything is set." The young man said. His boss smiled, his time had finally come.

"They shall see what happens when they cross a member of my family." He said. "Get my broadcast to the hybrid ready!"

"Yes sir."

At CC… 

"Goku! Vegeta! There's someone here to see you!" Bulma yelled, fearfully. Everyone ran into the technical unit of CC and saw that all the monitors had the face of a young man on it.

"We'd better approach this carefully…" Goku said.

"Who the hell are you and why the hell are your ships stationed over our planet?" Vegeta demanded. Everyone face-faulted.

"Very bold indeed." He smirked. "Allow me to introduce myself, Medilan Stearylin. I am the chief commander of this army, sent by my emperor. We do not want to start war with your planet. We have come here looking for justice." Medilan said.

"Okay, so you want peace and justice. What does that have to do with us?" Trunks asked.

"We are looking for the ones who have wronged us. And one of them is among you." Medilan said. "Although I can see he is not with you right now."

"Are you talking about my son?" Goku asked.

"Yes. If your son is one named Gohan." Medilan said. "You see, he killed my father."

"What are you talking about? Gohan would never kill anyone unless it was self-defence." Goku said.

"Sir, you seem like a smart man. Please don't underestimate my intelligence, as I have not underestimated yours." Medilan said. "My father was sent here around 10 years ago, your time. He came to survey the planet to see if we could do business with you but your son and others attacked my father and ended up killing him. There were four others with him."

"Look, let me find my son and hear his side of the story. I want this to be cleared up just as much as you do." Goku said. Medilan looked a bit annoyed, but smiled through his teeth.

"Very well sir, I tried to be diplomatic but I see you are just going to be difficult." Medilan said.

"Difficult my ass. He just wants to get both sides of the story!" Trunks protested.

"Your hot-headedness is not helping matters." Medilan said. "I hear you Saiyans like combat, think of this as my present to you for being so polite." The connection cut off.

"What the hell did he mean by that?" Krillin asked.

"I have no idea, but I didn't like his tone at all." Goku said, in deep thought. He turned over to look at the television. The news was showing three people, one woman and two men, in some kind of military clothing. They were attacking some people outside an office building in another country. "That was fast. I think he anticipated that we weren't going to hand Gohan over. That bastard."

"What country are they attacking?" Bulma asked.

"It says it's Manchester, England." Goten said. "We need to get there and help those people."

"Krillin, I want you to find Gohan and try to get some light shed on this. Trunks, Vegeta and Goten, we're going to England."

At Gohan's house… 

"Oh no…" Videl said, as she stared at the TV screen in horror. "Gohan, it's the same people…from before. They must be back for revenge. David was right!"

"It's not the same guys, although they're from the same place. They're wearing the same uniform." Gohan said. "This must be what Tousan wanted to meet about."

"What are we going to do?" Videl asked. "This is our fault! If we hadn't…"

"Look! Tousan is there. And it looks like he's going to fight them."

"We can't let him fight them alone."

"He's not alone. Besides, there is no way that I can leave you on your own. Not after last time." Gohan said. "The others that we fought before, they could barely handle me let alone my father. Trust me, he'll be okay."

"I don't know Gohan, it's been a while. Maybe they've been training…"

"Hey Papa, they're in Manshesta right?" Cory asked.

"Manchester, yes."

"Well isn't that where Maria lives?"

"Oh…crap."

"Mama! Papa said a bad word!"

Manchester, England… 

"This is so boring!" Iloxane moaned, as she fired her gun with every word to emphasis her boredom. She was a tall slender woman, with pale cream skin and shocking blue eyes. Her hair was jet black and waist length. She was wearing a one-piece military costume much like her companions Dimethic and Anthius. Dimethic was medium height, with dark purple hair and brown eyes. He was not as muscular as Anthius and just seemed to let Iloxane and Anthius to do the dirty work. He was just observing. Anthius was a towering figure, at 7ft on the dot and with a build that could rival that of most bodybuilders. He had black hair, blue eyes and dark tanned skin.

"You know what the commander says Iloxane, we've got to keep doing this until the Saiyans arrive." Dimethic said. "And when they get here, they won't know what hit them."

"Really? We'll be the judges of that." A voice said from above.

"And in the classic cliché style, here comes the cavalry." Dimethic smirked.

"For someone from another planet, you sure know Earth customs pretty well." Goten said, as the Saiyans landed. "Random property damage, nice."

"Spare us your folly." Anthius said. "You gonna give up Gohan, or are we going to have to kill you?"

"And please let it be the former. I really don't want to have to get blood on my knuckles." Iloxane said.

"You're pretty confident girly. I'll wipe that smirk off your face." Vegeta said, flaring up his chi and getting into a fighting stance. "I'll take them all. If I need any assistance, Kakarrot can take the massive one."

"C'mon Dad, let us fight too!" Trunks said.

"You? Please. While you've been playing happy families with that wife of yours some of us have been training." Vegeta said.

"I did train! You were there!" Trunks protested.

"Dimethic, they chose the latter." Iloxane said rather annoyed. She turned around and blew up all the news cameras. All the news crews proceeded to leave hastily. "That was too predictable."

"C'mon Illy, you knew they would flee." Dimethic said, as he pulled out a small burgundy cylinder. "Besides, I'm getting tired of all this useless bantering. Speaking in this Earth tongue is making my brain turn to mush." Before any of the Saiyans could react, Dimethic threw it on the ground and a burgundy mist escaped from the cylinder.

"Shit." Vegeta uttered, before they all collapsed to the floor. When the smoke cleared, only Vegeta and Goku were unable to leave the floor.

"My chi, it's completely drained." Goku said, in shock. "I can't move."

"We seem to be okay." Goten said. "We're tired but can still fight. Bad news for you guys."

"Dimethic…" Iloxane said.

"Damn it. That chemical was supposed to drain anyone with Saiyan DNA of all their powers permanently." Anthius said.

"Permanently?!" Trunks exclaimed. "Did I just hear that Dad and Goku's powers have been drained permanently?!"

"NANI?!" Goku and Vegeta exclaimed.

"Geez, must be true. Vegeta can usually hear like a hawk…or a Namekian, whichever hears better." Goten said, as he and Trunks got into fighting stances and raised their chi.

"Anthius, this is your area of expertise." Dimethic said, as he and Iloxane stepped back. Anthius cracked his knuckles and waited for Trunks and Goten to charge. 

As the two semi-Saiyans charged towards the giant, he disappeared before they could land a strike. When they looked back, he had reappeared behind them and punched them both in the back slamming them into the floor. Badly bruised, they got up and tried to charge at him again. Anticipating that he would disappear and reappear again, Trunks and Goten zanzokened and went behind where they predicted Anthius to appear again. When he did, they both charged up their chi ready to attack him.

"KA…ME…HA…ME…HA!" They both yelled, doing the Kame-sennin trademark attack. The attack hit Anthius in the back and threw him to the floor. After the attack had dispersed, Anthius got up and dusted himself off.

"A fine display of dust, if such was your intention." Anthius said. (**) Goten and Trunks looked at him in disbelief.

"We gave that attack everything we had." Goten said in disbelief.

"It's time to pull out plan F." Trunks said.

"He may have the skill but he's such an asshole Trunks! Are you sure he can do the job? I mean, our fathers are just about lifeless." Goten said, looking over to the two older fighters. He sighed heavily. "Make that unconscious. Tousan picks the worst times to go to sleep."

"We have no choice Goten." Trunks said, getting up. Goten pouted and got up also.

"Fine. Anything that happens is your fault."

"WHAT?! WHY MY FAULT?!"

"It's your personality that is dominant not mine."

"Nuh uh!"

"Yah huh!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Prove it!"

"Goten-ks! Your WHOLE name is in the damn thing!"

"No! Half! Gote-nks! The nks comes from you!"

"Oh get over it!"

"No, you get over it!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You infinity!"

"Arg!" Whilst they were consumed in their argument, Anthius came up behind them, grabbed their heads and banged them together.

"If it helps, you are both assholes." Anthius replied. "Besides, we already know about your little fusion technique and we weren't going to give you the chance to do it anyway."

"How do you know so much about us?" Trunks groaned. Anthius merely smirked, threw them both up in the air and blasted them both with a huge energy blast. Their bodies fell from the air, limp and lifeless with blood and burn marks all over them. Anthius smirked.

"It's so easy it's almost not satisfying." He looked over to the four defeated Saiyans and chuckled. "Almost."

"I'm glad that you are having so much fun Anthius, but it's time for us to report back to the ship. We've given Gohan enough of a taster." Dimethic said. "Besides, I can hear the ambulance sirens in the distance. The coroner is going to have a field day deciphering these goons." Anthius and Iloxane put a hand on Dimethic's shoulder and they disappeared as the ambulances arrived.

To Be Continued…

It's starting to look obvious who the gang have been hiding the secret from, any guesses? The secret however is not as evident. Until the next chapter anyway! Stay tuned.

(**) This was what Radditz said to Piccolo when they first met. At least, that's what my graphic novel says. I just thought it was funny.


	3. Please have mercy on me, as I am nothing...

**Rifts and Changes**

Chapter Three: Please have mercy on me, as I am nothing but a good-looking man with a brain I cannot control!

Disclaimer: Same as before.

A/N: Okay, lots of stuff gonna be found out in this chapter so pay attention. It's kind of complicated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in Japan… 

"Oh crap. Oh crap. Shimatta." Gohan kept muttering as he walked back and forth.

"Gohan, calm down. She may not find out." Videl said, trying to calm her husband down.

"She will, and she will be so pissed off. I can just see her now blowing up roofs and stuff!" Gohan said. Pan looked at her parents quizzically and was about to ask them what was wrong when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Pan said, but her parents were too distracted to notice her. She went to open the door and saw Krillin, Marron and #18 at the door. "Hello! Long time no see, what's wrong? You look concerned." Pan asked, as she let them in.

"Have you seen what's happening on the news?" Marron asked.

"Yes. Mum and Daddy are getting worried about it too. Grandpa, Vegeta-san, Trunks and Uncle Goten went to check it out." Pan said.

"I know, I'm worried because the transmission's gone out." Marron said. "I hope they're okay."

"I'm sure they are." Pan reassured. The telephone rang. "I suppose I'll get that too. Hello? Yeah, Daddy's here. Daddy, telephone. It's Uncle Nick." Gohan took the phone from her.

"Hey Nick. Yeah, I've been watching it. How are you holding up over there…uh huh…too late huh? They've already gone to the hospital? Crap. She's gonna know…that's exactly what I said!" Gohan said, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. "How soon can you get…oh yeah, I forgot. Yeah, I'll call them. Okay, see you after the shit hits the fan."

"Again with the bad words in front of us Papa!" Cory said, pouting. "If Grandma heard you, she'd smack you."

Back in England… 

"Dr Summers, we've got four casualties from the fight downtown." A male nurse said, as he ran into the doctor's lounge. "Dr Stevens wants you to take a look at it."

"Am I ever gonna get this rep of 'weird doctor' off me Kurt?" Dr Summers asked, as she got up and walked with the nurse to the ER. He laughed. 

"They're in here. These two just seem to be suffering from exhaustion whereas these two look like they've been put through hell. All of them are conscious now miraculously." Dr Summers looked at all four patients and gasped quietly. "You know what's wrong with them?"

"I think so. I've seen these types of injuries before and I know that we can't cure it here." Dr Summers said.

"To answer your previous question…no, you're never gonna shake that weird doctor reputation." Kurt said.

"Aww thanks Kurt." Dr Summers replied dryly. "I'm gonna see if I can get identification out of them could you please tell Dr Stevens that we need to get them a transfer jet to the hospital facilities of Capsule Corp in Japan."

"Right away boss." Kurt said as he sped down the hall. Dr Summers folded her arms and walked into the room.

"Okay, I have no authority to make you talk Mr Son and Mr Vegeta but I can certainly try and squeeze it out of your two sons." Dr Summers said. The two older Saiyans looked at her in surprise, whereas the two younger ones looked dejected. "Now Trunks and Goten, we can do this the easy way or I can poke your burn marks until you cry. Either way, I wanna know why you have chi burn marks and why the hell those aliens on the news were attacking you."

"Okay, either you're with those bastards that attacked us, you know us or you're psychic." Vegeta said, as angrily as he could given his current state.

"Hehe. Too easy." She laughed. "Well?"

"Natalie, please don't make us tell." Trunks said.

"Eh uh, you owe me Trunks. And now I'm collecting." Natalie said.

"So you're a doctor now?" Goten asked. "I just have to add, Hellooooooooo nurse!" (Come on, Animaniacs! I had to do it!)

"I don't think my husband would be too pleased to hear you say that." Natalie laughed. "Fine. If you're going to avoid the subject then I'm just gonna phone your brother and yell at him." 

"Better you than me lady. Kakarrot's brat has a lot of explaining to do." Vegeta huffed.

Back at Gohan's… 

"Okay, we'd better go to Capsule Corp. I'll explain everything there." Gohan said. Just as they were about to leave, Gohan's cell rang. "Hello?"

"Son, you are so busted."

"Crap. Hey Nat, what's up?"

"Don't 'what's up' me Son Gohan! I have got your father, your brother, Mr Vegeta and Trunks all sitting in the frigging ER! They looked as if they just got their asses handed to them and the guys that did it seem to be after you. And they seem to be displaying some familiar attributes no less, so what in the blue hell is going on? I am freaking out here Gohan."

"Nat…"

"Don't you dare start lying to me! I can tell when you're lying!"

"Look, I really can't talk now. Nick'll fill you in."

"Nick?! You mean even he knows what's going on?!"

"Please don't be angry. We only thought we were doing what was best."

"I hate that."

"What?"

"Just that!" Natalie said, as she hung up the phone.

"That did not go well." Gohan sighed. "Let's get going."

Back in the hospital… 

"I could kill your brother you know. He didn't tell me anything." Natalie said, angrily. "And apparently, my husband is in on it too." Natalie walked up to them and checked all their vitals. "Luckily, we are good to go. We're getting a jet prepped to take you back to Trunks' house."

"Thank you Miss." Goku said.

"You're welcome." Natalie said. She turned around to look at the doorway. There was a tall, dark haired man standing there and he was very out of breath. He looked at her sheepishly.

"Hi honey." Nicholas said, grinning goofily. Natalie frowned.

"Don't you 'hi honey' me Nicholas Julian Summers." Natalie said, wagging her finger. "I knew it! I knew there was something you were hiding from me! How could you keep this a secret from me for so long?! I know I am not a fighter like you are but I think as your wife I deserve to know when my husband goes on a suicide mission!"

"Calm down, please." Nicholas said.

"I am calm buddy! Me not calm would involve various explosions and certain body parts of yours not existing!" Natalie yelled, waving her hands all over the place. The patients looked between the husband and wife as they argued. "It's just a cut he says! Gohan and me were playing a bit too rough he says. No need for me to worry about it he says! Do you know…?!"

"I know, you may have made a difference and we don't know how vital you could have been had you been there that day but Nat, I was only doing what I thought was best for you!"

"I'm not talking about that you oversized jackass!" Natalie practically screeched.

"Um, Dr Summers?" Kurt asked fearfully. "The jet is ready, and Jane and Sarah are ready to take the patients on board."

"Okay, do it." Natalie said, still looking at her husband with much anger. When the two nurses had loaded them onto the jet, Natalie walked away from Nicholas but he followed her. "Don't follow me Nicholas."

"I hate it when we fight Nat. Especially since you're doing most of the yelling inside my head." Nicholas said.

"Don't try and joke you're way out of this, it is not funny!"

"Who's joking? I'm having serious migraines!"

"Fine, you want verbal communication. I AM NEVER TALKING TO YOU AGAIN!" Natalie yelled.

"Honey, don't talk like that." Nicholas said. "Gohan wants us both to come to Japan."

"Well then bub, you're finding your own ride there." Natalie said, climbing into the jet.

"Honey…"

"You still don't get it do you? You don't trust me!"

"Nat, you know that isn't true!" Nicholas said. "I trust you with my life, never think otherwise."

"Okay then, if that is true why don't you tell me the reason you never told me about those guys attacking you before?" Natalie asked.

"Nani?!" The four injured Saiyans exclaimed.

"Did I miss a whole chunk of your conversation? Because I am totally lost." Trunks said, noting everyone else's confusion. Nicholas cast his gaze downwards.

"I…I can't." Nicholas said.

"Well, I guess that answers that." Natalie said, as she shut the jet door. The jet took off and sped towards Japan.

"Um, Gohan's friend?" Vegeta asked.

"Yes Trunks' dad?" Natalie replied.

"What the hell is going on?" Vegeta demanded.

"Well I don't know exactly but I think it has something to do with my husband and Gohan." Natalie said.

"But why would they be after your husband? He's just an ordinary human."

"Well…" Natalie said, nervously twisting her fingers. "That's not exactly true."

"Huh?!"

"Don't get overexcited, you'll pass out!"

"Okay, so explain what's up?" Goten asked.

"Natalie has special powers." Trunks said. Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Thanks Trunks! I had a nice little speech there ready to be used and everything." Natalie said.

"You're welcome." Trunks replied. "I didn't know that Nick did too."

"He does. So does Videl, Andie and David." Natalie said. "See, our forefathers or whatever they're called came from another planet Tocopherat. And I'm guessing from the whammy that those guys gave you, they are too."

"Why did Gohan not tell us?" Goten asked.

"Don't be mad at him, we asked him not to tell anyone." Natalie said. "But you can be mad at him for not telling you when these lot attacked before. I sure am."

"What do you mean, before?" Goku asked.

"One day Nick went out, was gone for a few days and then comes home battered. He tells me he went training with Gohan and that he was fine and I shouldn't worry. But now I'm starting to think otherwise." Natalie said, slightly scowling. There was a brief silence.

"So, what kind of powers do you have?" Goten asked, trying to break the silence.

"I don't have any really useful." Natalie said.

"Yeah right. Being a telepath is not useful." Trunks said, sarcastically.

"You can read minds?" The others asked. Natalie nodded.

"That's why it seemed me and Nick were talking in cryptic, we kind of talk telepathically and forget that we're doing it. Also, sometimes I get like vision thingies but they come as often as an honest salesman." Natalie said.

Meanwhile… 

"Can we talk about this now?" Krillin asked. 

"Everyone's not here yet." Videl said. Right on cue, Andrea and David along with their kids walked in. Their eldest, Claudia went straight over and sat with Pan and they quickly got into discussion.

"Hey guys." David said. "Funny how it's always a crisis that brings us together."

"Now is not the time to joke." Andrea said, scolding her husband. "What's going on?"

"Okay, just got off the phone with Nick. He says that Natalie did find out and she's mighty pissed." Gohan said. 

"Great, let the PMSing marathon begin." David said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I'm gonna let that slide on the fact that you're probably right." Videl said. "I think this is the reason she has passive powers. Her temper…"

"Okay, I am not understanding why you are afraid of this woman." Krillin said. "And more importantly, now that we're all here can we please talk about it?" Videl nodded.  "Thank you." Krillin said, as he sat down.

"I can't help feeling that I should wait until Dad gets here." Gohan said. "I don't think I can go through this again, there may not be enough time." The doors of CC burst open as hospital orderlies rushed Goku and Vegeta into the CC infirmary. Goten and Trunks limped into the room. They had decided not to go to the infirmary, during the hour-long flight Trunks and Goten had gotten better, but their fathers' state had deteriorated. Natalie walked in with a dark scowl on her face. Her friends visibly became shaken.

"Aunt Nat is very scary for such a small lady." Cory said, as Pan and Claudia nodded.

"Okay, now everyone is here. Can we please know what the hell is going on?" Krillin said.

"But Dad…"

"We'll tape it. Just go Gohan." Krillin said. Gohan went into deep thought.

"How should I explain this?" Gohan said. "I have no idea where to start…"

"Okay G, let the dumbest man in this room do the explaining in Layman's terms okay?" David said, taking centre stage. "Claudia, Adrian, Danny? You're going to have to hear this, it affects you too. Me, my wife, Videl, my scowling best friend over there and her husband are all technically from the same planet as those guys that attacked you."

"What do you mean technically?" #18 asked.

"Our great grandparents came from that planet for some reason we don't know. They had kids with Earthlings you know how it goes, and they lived and died here. Anyhoo, if you're from this planet you get special kind of abilities. You guys had to train to be able to do the things you can do but we were sort of born with them. Apart from my wife, our powers kind of became obvious when we were teenagers." David said taking a slight pause for questions. When there were none, he carried on. "Long story short, these guys came here before around ten years ago. It wasn't these exact guys though. There were three of them, three guys. All about our age back then. They came and found us, and said that they needed to carry out our execution. For some reason, our grandparents had fled that planet and we were gonna get punished for it so they attacked Videl first. We, except Nat, came to help. Long battle, lots of fighting and all except one ended up dying. He just disappeared. We never found him."

"Well, it looks like it's pretty obvious he went running back home, told all his friends what you guys did and now they want revenge." Natalie said.

"Don't be mad." Andrea said.

"Why is everyone telling me not to be mad? Or not to be angry? So, you're making all of my decisions for me now! Ooh, I just exhaled! Better tell me to inhale or I could die!" Natalie seethed.

"We were only doing what we thought…" David started.

"Was best David? Well while you were doing what you thought was best, you just signed everyone's damn death warrants. You could have at least told me! I could have helped."

"By doing what? Making random sarcastic comments?"

"No, that's what Nick is there for. I could have altered those guys' memory of our existence therefore avoiding the smack down altogether." Natalie said.

"You can do that? Since when can you do that?" David demanded.

"Right around the time you decided that I'm so friggin unstable and that you can't trust me with this kind of information."

"That's enough you two." Gohan said.

"Okay, now that we're back from the drama." Trunks said. "What does this have to do with us?"

"I'm the one who killed them. They want revenge on me." Gohan said, sitting down.

"Nii-chan, they've drained Tousan and Vegeta's strength. With a strange serum." Goten said. "It affected us too. Now we fight as if we were regular human beings that can manipulate chi." Gohan sighed.

"Where's Nick? We need him here." Gohan asked Natalie.

"I don't know and I don't care." Natalie said, folding her arms. Gohan looked at her puzzled.

"They got into a fight. She's not talking to him." Goten explained. Gohan sighed again.

"Can you please…?" Gohan asked. Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Fine." Natalie said. "But I'm bringing my kids too." Before Gohan could say another word, Natalie had vanished.

"What in the hell just happened?" Claudia asked.

"Claudia, mind your language." Andrea scolded.

"I will not! I just find out that I'm like part alien, that my parents are the friggin' power rangers and that Auntie Nat can disappear!" Claudia said. Natalie reappeared again with her family in tow. "And reappear with people! Okay, I am dreaming and I'm gonna wake up…dammit!"

"Well, she gets her freaking out skills from my side." David commented.

"Please talk to me." Nicholas asked his wife. She refused to talk to him. "Please?" Natalie turned around and scowled at him. "Ah, you have executed your angry scowl attack! But I can penetrate your angry scowl with my adorable teary-eyed sad pout!" Nicholas pouted at Natalie but she just scowled even hard. "In the infamous words of Dr McCoy, stars and garters! My pout didn't work! It always works against your scowl!"

"Nick…" Gohan tried to say.

"I have it! With the combination of your angry scowl and the silent treatment, you have penetrated my ultimate counter attack!" Nicholas said, as he fell to the floor and began to mock weep. "Please have mercy on me, as I am nothing but a good-looking man with a brain I cannot control!"

"Nick, this is not the time for jokes." Gohan sighed.

"Eh, gomen nasai Gohan!" Nicholas sweat-dropped sheepishly. Claudia walked straight up to Drake, Nicholas and Natalie's eldest son. He was very tall for his age, fifteen, and had dark brown hair and blue eyes. He had three siblings, in age order; Maria 10, Felicity 8 and Michael 6.

"Hey Drake, guess what. We're part alien." Claudia said, in tears.

"Yeah, I already knew that." Drake said.

"No. Way." Claudia said, looking at her parents.

"You told them?!" David asked.

"Yes I did." Natalie said. "They asked why they could suddenly make toast without a toaster and I told them."

"Oy, it's starting to feel like Buffy season seven in this house. Overcrowded." Trunks commented.

"Overcrowded? In this house? Really?" Goten asked. Trunks stuck his tongue out at Goten. Vegeta and Goku walked into the living room.

"Hey Tousan." Gohan said.

"Gohan, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you. What do you mean your friends have powers?! What do you mean they know about yours?! WHY HAVEN'T YOU TOLD US ABOUT THIS BEFORE?!" Goku asked.

"It never came into conversation?" Gohan said sheepishly.

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Vegeta said.

"Not again." David sighed.

"No, we heard all that crap. What I want to know is why in the hell were we never informed of this?!" Vegeta yelled. "I have no power! At all! You may like feeling like a wuss, but I don't enjoy it very much."

"I thought Nat was bad. I am so waiting for him right now to say bub and for claws to come out of his knuckles." Nicholas said to David, who snickered. Vegeta gave them both a cold look and they looked down at the floor ashamed.

"Why didn't you tell us of this whole matter? Didn't it ever occur to you that it would be a potential crisis?!" Vegeta roared at Gohan.

"Of course I did!" Gohan yelled back. "But I thought we could handle it!"

"What makes you think that we couldn't?!"

"Because it's our mess. It's not even Gohan's but he was there and Videl was involved…look Mr Vegeta, we're responsible. We wanted to take care of it, because it's our fault." Nicholas explained.

"If that's true, then why didn't you tell your wife?" Vegeta asked.

"Yeah, why didn't you tell your wife Nicholas?" Natalie asked.

"Aha! You broke the vow of silence! I'm back in the game babycakes! Let the stare down commence!" Nicholas said dramatically.

"Babycakes?" Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ay no. It's the eyebrow of condescendence!" Nicholas said, shrinking in his seat.

"What didn't Daddy tell you Mama?" Felicity asked.

"Nothing darling." Natalie replied. "Daddy just has a little trouble communicating."

"Maybe I can help clear things up." The voice came from the monitor room. Everyone ran inside and saw Medilan on the screen smirking.

"Okay big bad, we want some answers." Videl said. "We're the assailants you wanted, so you'd better explain yourself. Why did you attack those innocent people?"

"To get your attention." Medilan replied.

"Why did you drain my father and Vegeta's strength? And how did you know how to do so?" Gohan asked.

"I drained them because I knew they could very well kill my men before they had a chance to carry out justice. I knew how to do so because ever since you killed my father Son Gohan, I have been studying you very carefully."

"You've been watching me?" Gohan asked.

"I never said that." Medilan answered. "Now that I have found you, I think it's only fair that you die for what you did to my father."

"Wait, what exactly did we do to your father?" Andrea asked.

"He was one of the men that you killed. At least he had the chance to come back here and tell us of your crimes before he died too."

"Crimes my butt. Your father and his boys came here and attacked us, saying that we were a betrayal to all things Tocopheran and that we needed to be exterminated!" David said. "We defended ourselves, and we're sorry that he died but dude he asked for it."

"Why with the dude? For what reason would you call him dude?" Nicholas muttered sadly.

"Liar!" Medilan roared. "My father would never attack someone without cause."

"Well either he has a double running around or it's your daddy who's the liar." Andrea said. "Are you sure you got your facts right?"

"This is pointless." Medilan said. "Why am I trying to reason with the spawn of these exiled _Decolains_?" 

"Did he just curse at us?" Videl asked. The others shrugged. "What do you mean spawn of bla whatever?" Suddenly, there were sirens and lights flickering from Medilan's transmission.

"This isn't over." Medilan said.

On Medilan's ship… 

"What in blazes is going on?!" Medilan demanded as he walked into the security room.

"I'm sorry to report sir, that prisoner 2952KL3 has escaped." A young woman said. Medilan's fists shook angrily at his sides.

"Where is he headed?"

"To Earth."

"Damn it." Medilan cursed as he punched a whole in the door of the security room. "Track the ship he's using."

"We can't. He's not using that mode of transportation."

"Damn it. Get the Pher Squad here, on the double."

To Be Continued…

My cliffhangers are back with a vengeance! Yay for me! Okay, I will update as soon as physically possible.


	4. There’s a reason why Bats was a part of ...

**Rifts and Changes**

**Chapter Four: "There's a reason why Bats was a part of the Justice League, and it's not because of his utility belt."**

A/N: Okay, sorry for all the confusion last chapter. The battle that Gohan and co fought without Natalie, that's a story that hasn't been written. I will write it eventually, but I thought the story would play out better if you guys were in the dark too. ^_^()

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Space… 

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" The prisoner who had escaped from the Tocopherans was travelling at high speed towards Earth. To the casual observer, who supposedly would be any astronauts in space, he was using a very strange type of transportation. Actually, it was the fact that he had no mode of transportation that made it very strange. He had a huge, clearish blue force field around his body and he was flying through space. "Why did I have to be the brave one? Why couldn't that lazy bum of a brother of mine do this? Oh yeah, that's right. I'm more expendable. For goodness sakes', I'm just a kid! There's no way they're going to let me help them. Okay, here comes the hard part." He was closing in on Earth's atmosphere and then he pushed some buttons on his wrist watch, as if he were programming something. He then braced himself  as he entered Earth.

Back at CC… 

"You were awful quiet." David said to Natalie, as everyone went to sit down in the living room. She remained quiet. "So, you're not talking to me either huh?" Natalie still remained silent. "Fine."

"Natty, I know that you're mad at us. But being bitchy and such isn't really going to help. We need to work together to stop this guy so stop acting like a child and help us!" Videl said.

"Better her than me." David said. Natalie turned to them both and rolled her eyes.

"If you would give me the benefit of the doubt, which apparently you never do, you would see that I'm actually trying to figure out something." Natalie said. "That guy is obviously talking in code. He's implying that there's more to this 'random' attack than meets the eye."

"What have you got so far?" Goku asked.

"Well I…gah!" Natalie grabbed her head in pain.

"What happened?" Trunks asked.

"I think I just got an inkling…" Natalie said.

"Did you have a vision?" Gohan asked.

"Yes." Natalie replied, rather monotonously. There was a brief silence.

"Are you gonna tell us what it was about?"

"No."

"Can I ask, why the hell not?" Vegeta asked.

"I can tell you, can't tell anyone. You cannot be trusted. None of you can be trusted with this information." Natalie said, her eyes darting to everyone as if she was terrified of them. Nicholas looked at her strangely.

"What?"

"Gaaah!" She yelled, and then suddenly she had a vacant look on her face. "The walls have ears and eyes...the enemy have planted a seed and now it has outgrown it's boundaries..."

"What are you babbling about?" Vegeta asked. Natalie turned around to look at Gohan.

"I cannot tell you, you are too close to believe me. You cannot save her this time Son. She will go by choice, not by force. All her humanity will be gone...to tell you what will happen would doom us all." Natalie said. Gohan looked at her in confusion.

"If you don't tell us what's gonna happen we'll be damned either way!" Gohan said.

"Gohan, wait. That's not her talking." Nicholas said.

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked.

"Someone is trying to warn us, and they're talking through her." Nicholas said, as he went up to Natalie and shook her lightly. "Come on girl, snap out of it." He seemed to get through to her and she looked at everyone very confused.

"Oookay, what the hell just happened?" Natalie asked. "And why are you touching me?" Nicholas moved back and laughed nervously.

"Do you remember anything from your vision?" Gohan asked.

"I had a vision?" Natalie replied. Everyone looked at her confused. "Hey, I'm just as confused as you guys!"

"Perhaps I can clear a few things up." A male voice said. They all turned around to see a young man in his teens standing in the house. He was wearing similar clothing to the Tocopherans who had attacked. He tried to say something but he grabbed his chest in pain and collapsed.

"Well that was time well spent." Vegeta snorted. Natalie went over to him and checked his pulse.

"He's okay. He's just exhausted." Natalie said.

"Good. Then we can toss him out by his ear." Vegeta said.

"We can't do that." Natalie replied.

"You know, I'm getting a little sick and tired of these children telling me what to do." Vegeta snarled.

"Not everything is done with brute force Mr Vegeta. If we wake him up, then maybe we can interrogate him for answers. Kill him now and you may as well be fighting blindfolded." Natalie said. "Andie, if you would?"

"No problem." Andrea said, as she used her telekinesis to put the young man on the couch.

Elsewhere… 

"Sir, we've gotten word that there is another among the _Decolains_, one of whom your father did not face. She is a telepath, and seems to have some precognitive abilities as well." The kid said. Medilan looked shocked.

"Has she…?"

"Had a vision? Not quite sure. It is the one aspect of her powers that she doesn't have a handle on."

"Good. She cannot find out at this stage. I have worked to hard for my revenge to go to waste." He paused. "Any news on our escaped prisoner?"

"He has reached their base of operations."

"Crud."

Back to CC… 

"You know, he doesn't look like an alien." Adrian said.

"Well, what were you expecting him to look like?" Cory asked.

"Kind of like a little green man." Daniel replied.

"We're all part alien you know, and we're not green." Maria said.

"Besides, he looks normal. He's kind of a cutie." Pan said.

"You know, I was just thinking the same thing." Claudia said. The younger kids rolled their eyes.

In the kitchen… 

"Nat, you know it's not good for us to be fighting at a time like this. it raises tension between us." Nicholas said, looking at his wife with pleading eyes. Natalie sighed.

"I know anger tension isn't what we need right now but I can't help but feel angry." Natalie sighed. Nicholas moved in closer to her and held her hand.

"That's not the kind of tension I meant." Nicholas said. Natalie raised her eyebrows in surprise and started to blush.

"You are just incorrigible."

"You love me really."

"Hey guys, the kids are fighting again." David said. "I guess I'll go take care of it." He walked to the living room.

"Nick, you need to focus okay?" Natalie said, moving away from him.

"Then you gotta talk to me." Nicholas replied, with a devilish smile on his face.

"Nice try."

Back in the living room… 

"For all you guys know, he could be evil and all you can think about is his looks." Drake said. "And they say boys only…"

"Hey, we never said he couldn't be evil!" Claudia said.

"Yeah! He'd just be an evil hottie." Pan said. Drake face-faulted.

"Name one evil bad guy that all the girls liked!" Drake said.

"This is such a boring conversation!" Adrian and Daniel both said.

"That twin thing is so creepy." Felicity said.

"Is not!" The twins replied.

"How about Angelus?" Pan said. "All the girls liked him!"

"Is too!" Felicity said.

"C'mon, that was before you were born! It doesn't count!"

"Is not!"

"It does so count! Ever hear of reruns? Or don't they have those in England?"

"Is too!"

"GUYS SHUT UP!! THERE IS A POSSIBLE SUSPECT TRYING TO REGAIN CONSCIOUSNESS IN HERE!" David yelled.

"Nnggg…I was snapped back into consciousness by your yelling. But thanks anyway."

"He's awake!" David exclaimed.

"I'm not surprised. Poor guy." Pan said. "Drake, why did you have to yell so loudly?"

"Me?!" Drake was about to protest more when all the adults came back into the living room. The young man stood away from them defensively.

"Okay, I can explain what I'm doing here." He said.

"Alrighty." Videl said, freezing every part of his body except his head. "Who the hell are you?"

"Ooh, nice Vid. I give it a 7." Nicholas said. Gohan shook his head dismissingly at him and he looked down at the floor sad.

"My name is Zophen. I am a prisoner of the ones who attacked you, they imprisoned me to stop me from helping you." Zophen strained to say.

"Okay, then what the heck happened to me earlier?" Natalie asked.

"I…I don't know." Zophen answered.

"You can't really walk into a room, and have your entrance insinuate that you're going to clear things up when you don't know anything!" Drake said.

"Mmm hmm." Goten nodded in agreement. "Very misleading."

"Come on, let's give the guy a break here for a minute." Pan said, trying to keep the peace.

"Anyways…Why would you want to help us? Aren't you one of them?" Nicholas asked.

"Not entirely. I am from their planet, but this guy Medilan is using the planet's King and manipulating him to carry out his own vicious vendetta." Zophen said. "I don't know what they want with you, but I want to help as much as I can. But I can only talk to the telepath."

"Why?" Gohan asked.

"Like she said, you're all too close to believe me. She's the only one who can prove that I am telling the truth, and I can only trust her and the one who uses telekinesis." Zophen said.

"Hey! Look at me being all important and vital and whatnot!" Natalie gloated. "C'mon, who's the lady?"

"I…" Zophen tried to say but Natalie held her hand up to stop him.

"Don't tire yourself, I've already scanned you." Natalie said. "He's telling the truth." Everyone looked between the two. "We need to get the kids out of here."

"What?" Gohan asked.

"They're not safe." Natalie said. "If those guys can't get to us you can bet your butt they're gonna go after them."

"No fair Mom!" Drake exclaimed. "I wanna kick some butt!"

"Just stick to kicking butt in your video games Drake, this is serious." Natalie said.

"You think I don't know that! C'mon, you're mad at Dad because he left you out! Don't leave me out too!" Drake said.

"No, that's not the reason why Drake!" Natalie said, turning to face her son.

"Then what is the reason why?!" Drake exclaimed. Natalie raised an eyebrow and looked behind Drake, to see that Nicholas was using Drake as a dummy to voice himself. Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Nicholas!" She yelled. Nicholas slinked away slowly.

"Sorry Mom." Drake said, sweat-dropping.

"We need a safe place to put them." Videl said.

"Okay, we'll teleport them to our house." Nicholas said. "It's the furthest away from harm and they won't expect us to be there."

"Does that mean I have to go too Daddy?" Pan asked.

"I'm afraid so darling." Gohan answered. "We need to figure out our enemy before we attack them."

"Does that mean I'll be able to help later?" Pan asked.

"We'll have to see how the situation plays out." Gohan answered.

"Is that the polite way of saying we'll see?" Pan asked. Gohan laughed nervously.

"Marron, I want you to go too." Trunks said. Marron looked at her husband confused. "Don't look at me like that please. I need to know that you are safe."

"What about you? You're not even at full strength! And how do we know that this guy is telling the truth?" Marron asked.

"Because Natalie said so, and I trust her." Trunks said. "She's gotten me out of a bind before."

"If you say so." Marron said. "I want you to call me. I have my cell."

"Okay." Trunks said, kissing his wife. Everyone else said their goodbyes.

"All aboard." Natalie said, as all the kids and Marron went to her. "Miss Bulma, aren't you coming?"

"No, I think I'll stay here for as long as I'm needed." Bulma said.

"Could you swing by and pick up my mother?" Goten asked.

"No problem. Please keep your hands held together and enjoy the flight." Natalie said, as she disappeared with the passengers.

"Okay, now that the kids have left the building I think it's time we talked for real." Nicholas said. "So, cut all the cryptic kid and tell us what is going on."

"I can't." Zophen said. "All I can tell you is that your lives are in danger and that you have to trust me."

"Why exactly?" Vegeta asked. "We do not know you. For all we know you could be a spy."

"If I were a spy, I wouldn't be wearing a prisoner uniform."

"Who says it's a prisoner uniform?" David asked.

"Look, it's not my fault you are more vulnerable than the telepath. Maybe if you hadn't lied to her, she would be more cooperative." Zophen said. Nicholas narrowed his eyes at Zophen.

"I don't know what you're implying about us being vulnerable but we're not. And for the record, the telepath's name is Natalie." Nicholas said. "We didn't lie to her."

"Besides, I don't think she would be so childish when the fate of the world is at stake." Goku said.

"You don't know Natalie Mr Son." David sighed. 

Half an hour later… 

"I wonder what's taking her so long?" Nicholas said. As if on cue, Natalie came back.

"My ears are burning." Natalie said.

"Nat, you're driving me insane." Gohan said. "Enough is enough. We need to formulate a plan to tackle this."

"Hey, I agree. You're the leader Gohan so formulate away." Natalie said. Everyone looked at her surprised and then turned their attention to Gohan.

"Um, okay." Gohan said. "First thing we need to do is suit up. We need to be ready in case of battle. Dad, since you and Vegeta have been put on the bench I think it's best that we tell you what happened in detail and what powers these guys have. You two are the best strategists here, so we need you to help us formulate a battle plan."

"Not my preference but it will do." Vegeta said.

"After that, I think all we can do is train." Gohan said. "That plan could change, it depends on our situation."

"What about us Gohan?" Trunks asked.

"I need you three to sit tight for now. Sorry." Gohan said, as everyone except Trunks, Goten, Natalie and Zophen left.

"And then there were four." Goten stated as he sat down in a more relaxing position.

"So…how'd you know he's not a spy?" Trunks asked.

"Aside from reading his mind, which granted could be fabricated information, our enemy is much smarter than we think." Natalie said. "These people have shape-shifters, mind controllers, body snatchers…why would they send him?"

"Good reasoning." Zophen said. "But how did you know that?"

"We've faced something like this before." Natalie said, rather sadly. "It's very confusing. Okay, not this battle that I didn't know anything about but one before it. I think we were about 17 at the time…" (A/N: You'll probably need to read 'The Young Ones' to get what Natalie is trying to explain)

"Woah, that was ages ago!" Goten said.

"I'm not that old Goten!" Natalie said. "Anyways, we are a major threat to whoever wants to kill us. So much so that these guys sent people from the future to kill us. But then Nick, David and you kids from the future all came to warn us and we defeated those future guys. Is everyone following me so far?" Zophen nodded, the other two looked unsure. Goten's face then lit up.

"I know what you mean. Kind of like what happened with Cell and Mirai Trunks yes?" Goten asked. Natalie nodded.

"We managed to stop the event which caused the Tocopherans to attack in the future in this timeline, but it seems that all the time travelling put everything out of whack and they're attacking anyway." Natalie said. "In that future, the Tocopherans were being ruled over by dictators and didn't want to attack us. In this timeline, they seem to want our heads on a platter even before Gohan iced that guy." Natalie said. "Do you know why they want us dead Zophen?"

"The monarchy has always had something against the Tocopherans who were sent here but nothing enough to kill them." Zophen said. "There's more to Medilan Stearylin than meets the eye."

"Hehe." Natalie chuckled. The others looked at her strangely. "Sorry, just remembered a cartoon from when I was little. Wait, did you say Stearylin?!" Natalie exclaimed. "Sizzlin' shish kebabs!" She ran off to find Gohan and the others. "Guys!"

"Nat, do you mind?" Videl asked. "We're trying to discuss something important here." Everyone else in the room looked annoyed that she had interrupted them.

"But Zophen said…"

"No offence sweetie, but we can't really trust anything that guy said." Nicholas said.

"I'm trying to tell you…"

"That we were wrong and you were right. Yes, we heard it all before. Leave the sarcastic remarks to Nick okay?" David said. Natalie narrowed her eyes at David.

"Acha…So this is what it feels like to be Cassandra…" Natalie said, as she left them throwing her hands up in the air.

"Okay, so we've discussed the basics." Goku continued. "From what it sounds like, it's the girls who can do the most damage without being noticed. We really can't do anything. We don't know where their base is, we don't even know how many of them are attacking us. We can't send Gohan up there in case they cancel out his Saiyan strength. We're basically at their mercy."

"Not necessarily." Vegeta said. "You said that when the future people came here, the Tocopherans wanted to prevent Gohan's son from being born correct?"

"Yes." Andrea answered. "They said he was the most threat to them."

"Well he's already been born. And they sounded like they didn't even know Gohan had a son. Unfortunately, all we can do now is question the alien kid in the living room." Vegeta said. "He knows why they're after us."

"We're going to have to take what he says with a grain of salt." Gohan said. "We don't know if he's lying."

"Yes we do, Natalie 'scanned' him or whatever." Andrea said. "She wouldn't lie."

"But he could be." David said. "The information in his brain could easily be made up to fool her. I mean, these guys are full Tocopherans. They probably have a better hold on their powers than she does."

Meanwhile… 

"Memo to me, kick David in the shin. Really hard." Natalie said, as she sat back down.

"They wouldn't listen?" Goten asked. Natalie shook her head. "Why did the name ring a bell?"

"The lady that was sent from the future to kill us was called Glycer Stearylin. They're probably related." Natalie said. "It's not as important as I first made out but…I am so mad at those guys. They always treat me like I'm a loose cannon, ever since…"

"Ever since when?" Zophen asked.

"Never mind, it's not important." Natalie sighed. "If only we had some way of going to the future timeline where this happened before."

"Would that help?" Goten asked.

"Majorly." Natalie replied.

"Well Trunks and his mom built one." Goten said. Natalie looked at him and blinked.

"One? As in a time dimensional transporter?" Natalie asked.

"Um, sure?" Goten said. "I don't think it actually has a name."

"Pardon me as I do my happy dance." Natalie said as she started dancing a little jig. Trunks looked at Natalie strangely as he sat down.

"What's up?" Trunks asked.

"Trunks, do you know how to operate your mother's time dimensional transporter?" Trunks nodded. "Yataa! We're going on a little trip."

"Where are we going? And what does my mother's machine have to do with anything?!" Trunks asked, a little nervous.

"It has everything to do with it Trunks. I know I really shouldn't be burdening you with this but you're the only one I can count on to help." Natalie said. "No offence Goten."

"None taken." Goten replied.

"Fair enough, but where are we going?" Trunks asked.

"To see the only people that have lived through something like this before."

"Hold on!" Zophen said. "Don't you think that leaving in the middle of a crisis is a little irresponsible?"

"They've made it perfectly clear they don't want me helping. So, for once I'm gonna use my brain instead of yelling about it." Natalie said. "There's a reason why Bats was a part of the Justice League, and it's not because of his utility belt."

"It's not a problem Zophen. I can program the machine so that it brings us back instantaneously." Trunks said.

"Puts your stance on a downer, doesn't it?" Goten asked. Natalie nodded sadly.

To Be Continued…

Okay, so this cliffhanger isn't as bad as the other ones. And I know you guys don't like them, but if they weren't there where would the suspense be?


	5. In that case screw the mission and put m...

**Rifts and Changes**

**Chapter Five: "In that case screw the mission and put me on a one way ticket to…heh, never mind. I'm married, it's a bad idea."**

A/N: Okay, this has taken me ages but it's finally here and…well if it's good or not is really in your department guys. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You want to WHAT?!" Bulma yelled. Natalie squirmed underneath the older woman's stare and then laughed nervously.

"I want to use your machine thingy to travel to an alternate timeline where this has already happened so they can give us some pointers…type thing." Natalie said. Bulma began to laugh. "I'm glad you see the humour in this…"

"Do you realise how many alternate universes there are?!" Bulma yelled.

"I'm guessing an infinite amount?" 

"Yes an infinite amount! There are so many universes that we are not even aware of! I mean, even the universes on TV shows and movies really exist somewhere in there!" Bulma said.

"Really? I mean, seriously?" Natalie asked. Bulma nodded. "In that case screw the mission and put me on a one way ticket to…heh, never mind. I'm married, it's a bad idea." Everyone else sweat-dropped. "Okay, so finding the universe may be hard…can't you just look for universes with signatures similar to this one?" Bulma, Trunks, Goten and Zophen all looked at her like she had grown a second head. "I have no idea if that makes sense, I watch a lot of sci-fi."

"Surprisingly, what you said did make sense. Even if it is in the most simplest of terms." Bulma said. Her eyes lit up as if her brain had a million thoughts going through it at once.

"That's me, simple." Natalie smiled. "Oh, but a favour. Can we not tell any of the others about this until we're certain this is going to work?"

Elsewhere in CC… 

"This is my training room." Vegeta said. There were various whistles and sounds of amazement.

"Very Star Trek, I like it." Nicholas said.

"Are you sure it's alright to train in here Vegeta-san?" Gohan asked.

"Yes, but not yet. I think it's better if we test your powers outside." Vegeta replied. "It takes the woman weeks to get this thing up and running after I train in it and we don't have that kind of time now."

"So, can we go and question Zophen now? I'm really bored." Goku said. Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"The fate of the planet is at stake, and you're bored?!"

"And hungry actually."

"You never seem to fall below my expectations of a 3rd class idiot Kakarrot."

"Maybe, but I'm the only 3rd class idiot to have ever kicked your butt." Goku said. Vegeta shook in rage.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO BRING THAT UP?!" Vegeta roared. Everyone else sweat-dropped.

Bulma's lab… 

"Mother, we have been searching the cosmos for hours. Can't we take a break?" Trunks asked. "I'm starving."

"No, not yet." Bulma said. "We need to get this thing ready as soon as possible."

"Please Mom…" Trunks said.

"I suppose we're not going to get any extra work done tonight. What time is it?" Bulma said. Trunks looked at his watch and then looked like he was going to cry.

"It's 1am." Trunks said.

"Holy cats…" Goten said. "No wonder I feel so tired. Dad and the others have been training and going through strategies all night."

"No, they quit about an hour ago." Natalie said, looking up from the datasheets. "And I'm gonna quit now. Oh by the way Trunks, I checked in on everyone about ten minutes ago. Marron says hi." If it was possible, Trunks looked even sadder.

"Those aliens better count their blessings that I don't have my powers." Trunks said. "I would so kick their ass right now."

"You and me both kid." Natalie said. "Are you sure it's okay we crash here Bulma-san?"

"Yeah. When there's a crisis it's usually my house that's the bed-sit." Bulma said. "Now, where's the caffeine?" Bulma trudged off to the kitchen, followed by Trunks and Goten. Natalie started to put away some of the papers when she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her waist. She rolled her eyes and elbowed the person in the gut.

"Not tonight Josephine?" Nicholas asked, sadly.

"I really don't know what to do with you." Natalie said, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes. "I'm giving you the silent treatment, our kids are in evacuation because of these alien bastards, there are actually alien bastards to be worried about and you guys are training to fight an opponent you have virtually no knowledge of. Yet all you can think of is one thing?" Nicholas blushed and looked at the floor. "Ladies and gents, the fate of the planet lies in this man's hands."

"Not just my hands you know! There are a lot of hands involved!" Nicholas protested. David, who was walking pass them, shook his head.

"You two have the weirdest conversations." David said. Nicholas rolled his eyes.

"It's not my fault. You know what this is doing to me. I hate not being on good terms with you." Nicholas said.

"Well you should've thought about that before." Natalie replied. "Trying to seduce me to forgive you isn't a good idea."

"Well I already tried the humour thing…" Nicholas said.

"That may have worked if I found you funny." Natalie replied. Nicholas felt like her words were a sharp knife to his heart. He could take it when she was telling him off but not when she was insulting him. She didn't realise how important her opinion was to him.

"I'm sorry." He said, as he walked away. She sighed. She didn't want to be angry with him, she didn't even mean what she said. She was just so angry.

"Nick, wait I…" She turned to look for him but he was gone.

Elsewhere… 

"Gohan?" Videl asked. Gohan, who was standing on the outside balcony, turned around and smiled at her.

"Hi."

"Hi." There was a small pause. "Are we doing the right thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we doing the right thing by fighting instead of being diplomatic?"

"They've given us every sign that they don't intend to give us a chance to talk." Gohan replied. "We have to defend ourselves. We're responsible for a lot more than just ourselves this time."

"How can you be so black and white about this? Isn't this the least bit hard for you?" Videl asked.

"Of course it is. I don't want to kill anyone Videl, I never have. Sometimes the right thing to do is the best thing, no matter how hard it may be for you to swallow it."

"I still think that if we tried to talk this out…I don't know. I just have so many unanswered questions about where I came from. Like why we're here and not living there. And why we're being hunted." Videl sighed. "I wonder what the planet looks like. Sometimes I have vague impressions of it, but maybe I just watched one too many episodes of the Magic School Bus as a kid."

"Weren't you a little old to be watching that when it was made?" Gohan asked. Videl chuckled. "Besides, if your ancestors hadn't come here I wouldn't have you in my life."

"Yeah. I guess so." Videl said, not sounding so convinced. Gohan sighed inwardly. Every time anything Tocopheran related came up, Videl distanced herself from him. It was as if she thought that he wouldn't understand what she was going through. She forgot that he too came from a planet that he had never seen, and had powers that he at first didn't understand. Once the subject was dropped or forgotten, she would return to normal. Gohan couldn't help but have the nagging feeling that…he shook his head. 

_**You're being ridiculous.** _He chided himself. _**Videl loves you as much as you love her.**_

Next morning… 

"I don't think I got enough sleep." Goten said, rubbing his eyes. "Just because the power active are up at eight doesn't mean we have to be as well."

"Goten, I know being the brains is a new concept for you, but please keep the whining down a few decibels." Trunks said, as he gulped down a cup of coffee. "I never knew how essential this stuff was. Thank the Lord for whoever invented coffee."

"It must be terrible not having your abilities." Zophen said.

"I'm just extra tired is all." Goten said. "Something that could've been cured if I was allowed to sleep even more."

"What did I say about whining?" Trunks sighed. Bulma walked into the room with a vibrant smile on her face.

"Okay, so far we have found three different universes which are similar to ours. I'm guessing one of them is Mirai Trunks' timeline and the other would be where Cell came from." Bulma said. "In any case, I can't tell which is which so the two of you will have to go visit each one."

"And you can do that instant moment thingy right?" Natalie asked. Bulma nodded. "Awesome."

"For a doctor, you sure do say thingy a lot." Goten said.

"I'm not very eloquent but I kick ass in Science. Go fig."

"You nervous?" Goten smirked.

"No, I am not nervous about my molecules being disassembled and then reassembled through the very fabric of time." Trunks replied.

"You sound nervous to me Mop Top."

"DO…NOT!" Trunks yelled. "You've been spending way to much time around Ms Executive."

"Take that back! I haven't been spending nearly enough time with her." Goten said, blushing furiously.

"Ooh, are you guys talking about that little girl with the hat that Goten used to like?" Natalie asked.

"NANI?!" Goten exclaimed.

"Yeah." Trunks said.

"Cute! You guys would make such a good couple!" Natalie squealed. "I always knew you liked her."

"Really?" Goten asked.

"Well, actually just about everyone knew you liked her." Natalie said. Goten face-faulted.

"Everyone?!"

"To quote Bill and or Ted, totally dude."

"I feel so embarrassed!"

"Can we get back to business please?" Bulma asked. The others looked down at the floor, embarrassed. "Okay, you have the watches on right?" Trunks and Natalie nodded as they stepped inside the machine. "According to my calculations, you should be dropped right outside the CC in their time. About one year after the Mirai's first visited you. Okay, here we go." Bulma entered a combination of numbers and letters in the computer and then pulled a lever. Trunks and Natalie disappeared.

"Froopin scranzels…" Goten said in awe.

"Hey woman!" Vegeta yelled. Bulma's eyebrow twitched.

"That is not my name!" Bulma said, as she walked into the living room.

"I was just going to ask where Trunks is." Vegeta said. Bulma laughed nervously.

"Um, bathroom." Bulma answered.

"And where's Natalie?" Gohan asked.

"Other bathroom." Bulma said.

"Oooh, I like this game. Where's the City of Atlantis? The other other bathroom?" Nicholas asked.

"Nick!" David said.

"Fine." Nicholas said, folding his arms.

"Zophen, if that is indeed your real name, we have a few questions we'd like to ask." Videl said.

"Okay, shoot." Zophen said.

"I wouldn't tempt her if I were you buddy." Nicholas said.

To the time travelling duo… 

"So, you're saying that we don't actually need the machine? We just have to wear these watches and we can get back?" Natalie said.

"That's right. Mother said that it'd save the hassle of worrying about the condition of the machine." Trunks answered. They had landed a few blocks from the Capsule Corp and were making their way there. 

"Did you tell your mom to set the machine to send us back instantaneously?" Natalie asked. Trunks gasped.

"Ohhhhh, please don't kill me!" Trunks said sheepishly.

"Don't worry, if we take half an hour here it'll be half an hour there right? It won't make that much of a difference. We're just going to have to be extra quick here." Natalie said.

"This city seems deserted. I wonder if there are people still here." Trunks said, looking about the streets. There were cars that looked like they hadn't been moved for years and the stores on the street looked like they had closed down for good.

"There must be. Let's wait until we get to your house."

"Okay, it's right around…oh my God." Trunks said, looking at the CC. Or at least what was left of it. The building was barely standing, there was a giant hole in the roof and all the greenery outside the CC was gone. They both ran to the building but before they could enter, they were stopped by two armed guards at the door.

"You'd think with all the TV I've watched, I would've known better than to run to a pre-assumed deserted building." Natalie sighed.

Elsewhere… 

"I can't tell you that." Zophen said. Everyone groaned. "I don't want to endanger anyone."

"Well we're pretty much on the doorstep of danger right now, so why don't you just tell us?" Gohan asked. Zophen sighed.

"I can't. I'm risking all your lives just by being here." Zophen said.

"Well then why don't you vamoose? You're not being much use anyway." Vegeta said angrily.

"Bulma-san, shouldn't Trunks and Natalie be back by now?" Goten whispered to Bulma. Bulma gasped.

"Oh no! I forgot to set the machine for instantaneous return!" Bulma whispered back.

"What does that mean?"

"When they come back depends on how long they stay in that dimension."

"Someone's gonna notice that they're gone."

In that alternate timeline… 

"Hey, not so rough." Natalie shrieked. Both her and Trunks were taken to one of the rooms still standing in the CC. They were tied to a wall and guarded by two guards. "Why have you tied us up? We haven't come here to hurt anyone, we came for help!"

"Like I'm gonna believe a bitch like you." One of the guards replied.

"Boy, if I could get my hands free…" Natalie muttered angrily. Footsteps were heard coming down the hall and then some more guards came with what appeared to be their leader.

"Hey, isn't that your husband?" Trunks whispered. Natalie smiled.

"Nicky!" Natalie exclaimed. Mirai Nicholas, the guy who appeared to be the leader, looked at them both with wide eyes.

"It…it cannot be! How are you alive?" Mirai Nicholas asked. Natalie and Trunks exchanged glances.

"Maybe we should explain before you…" Trunks tried to explain but Mirai Nicholas had already walked over to Natalie and had planted a very passionate kiss on her. "…do something you shouldn't. Whoops."

"I knew it! I told the others you weren't dead but they just said I was crazy." Mirai Nicholas said, looking at Natalie happily. Natalie in the meanwhile looked very dazed.

"Why are Mirai guys always kissing me?" Natalie asked out loud.

"Mirai…you mean, you're not…" Nicholas said, looking very sad. 

"It seems whatever timeline I go to, you have the hormones of a teenager. Was your height the only thing that developed into adulthood for you Nick?" Natalie sighed. Nicholas blushed.

"I guess it was too much to hope for huh?"

"Sorry." Natalie said. "Wait…I'm dead in this universe?"

"Todd, get them down from there." Mirai Nicholas ordered one of the guards. "I think we better sit down and talk."

"Damn straight. My head hurts from all this." Trunks said. "And no talking telepathically, it's cheating!"

Current universe, at the CC… 

"This is getting us nowhere!" Vegeta sighed. Zophen looked down.

"I'm sorry." Zophen said. Vegeta's eyebrow twitched.

"Sorry? You're SORRY?! SORRY ISN'T GOING TO GET MY POWERS BACK YOU LITTLE PUNK!!" Vegeta roared.

"Okay Vegeta calm down, we won't get anything done like this." Goku said.

"Is Trunks really constipated or something? He's been in there for hours!" Vegeta said.

"Nat's been up there for ages too." Nicholas said.

"Okay, something is going on. Bulma, would you care to explain?" Gohan asked.

"What? What makes you think I have anything to do with it?" Bulma said, trying to look offended. "And how dare you talk to me like that? I have known you since you were a little boy. Some respect if it's not too much trouble."

"I'm just asking because you were the one who told us where they 'supposedly' are." Gohan said, using his fingers to make air quotes. Bulma's bottom lip quivered.

"Okay, don't freak out but Trunks and Natalie have used the dimensional transporter to go to another universe where the Toco guys have attacked before to get some information that might help you and they didn't want to tell you because they knew you'd stop them before they had a chance to test it out." Bulma said, as she breathed a sigh of relief. "I suddenly feel so much better." Bulma looked at the shocked faces before her. "This I wasn't expecting."

"Do you know when they'll be back?" Videl asked.

"It all depends on how long they stay there." Bulma answered.

"They'll be fine." Videl said.

"Excuse me, they'll be fine?!" Vegeta asked.

"A recap for you Vid, they've gone to a different world and no one knows what awaits them there."  Nicholas said.

"They can take care of themselves just fine." Videl said. "We have more important things to do now."

"More important?" Nicholas asked.

"Yes." Videl said. "Now Zophen, are you going to help us or what?"

Meanwhile, on Medilan's spacecraft… 

"There are two of them missing." An officer reported.

"Damn it. Have the Pher Squad come back yet?" Medilan asked. The officer nodded. "Good, send them in here. Along with the two that didn't go." The officer left and returned almost instantly with Iloxane, Anthius, Dimethic and two other Tocopherans, one female and one male. They were dressed in similar uniforms to Dimethic. The girl's name was Thelia, she had emerald green hair and eyes. She was not as tall as Iloxane, but she was much more beautiful. The other one, Hamelis, was wearing headgear that covered his face and gloves to cover his hands. All that could be seen of him were two red, glowing eyes under the headgear.

"You summoned us sir?" Iloxane asked.

"Yes, it is time for us to execute the next phase of our plan." Medilan said.

"Why have you asked for us sir?" Thelia asked, indicating her and Hamelis. "I thought we weren't necessary for this particular mission."

"Something has come to my attention." Medilan said. "I think we will be needing your services after all." Thelia and Hamelis nodded. "Excellent. I shall teleport you there now." He pulled out a device from his chair and pressed a button. First Illoxane, Anthius and Dimethic disappeared and a few seconds later the other two disappeared as well.

Back at CC… 

"We need answers Zophen and the only person we can get them from is you!" Videl yelled. Zophen looked at her and clenched his fists.

"I've told you, I can't tell you. One of you cannot be trusted, and until I found out who I am staying silent." Zophen said.

"What the…" Before Gohan could finish sentence, Illoxane, Anthius and Dimethic all appeared in the living room.

"Huh. I wasn't expecting that to happen so soon." Nicholas said.

"What?" David asked.

"Well I always expected that never would take a lot longer to get here." Nicholas said.

"Before you draw your weapons, we came here to talk." Dimethic said.

"I somehow doubt it." Goku said.

"Yeah, the fact that I have the strength of a little boy gives me enough reason to kick your ass." Vegeta added.

"Even if you could, that wouldn't be an issue. We have come to talk about our situation." Dimethic said. "Our boss has decided to call a truce, on one condition."

"Which would be?" Gohan asked.

"If the rightful heir to the throne comes forward and talks to him personally." Dimethic said. "I believe that would be your wife."

To Be Continued…

I know it's a b*tch of a cliffhanger but I seriously am having trouble with the placement of the next few scenes if you get my meaning. I will update as soon as I can ok? Bye!


	6. Rock, Paper, Scissors and Short Straws a...

Rifts and Changes 

**Chapter Six: Rock, Paper, Scissors and Short Straws and Battery Butts.**

A/N: I know this has taken real long to come out and I'm sorry! But certain events beyond my control i.e. school starting up and other things i.e. finishing off Weiss Kreuz and comic book stuff including my favourite blue fuzzy and frozen mutants as well as a certain revelation about steel helmet wearing mutant (those of you who know what I'm talking about, can you frickin believe it?! Cos I sure as heck was shocked! Never saw it coming) Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!

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There was a long, eerie silence as the two sides faced each other. Dimethic cleared his throat as if he were waiting for someone to say something.

"You care to run that by us again?" Gohan asked.

"Your wife is the reason we have come here. Her ancestor was the next in line for the throne but since he came here distant relatives and whatnot have ruled the planet. There has been so much trouble over this issue that we came here to get you so that you can either take the throne or at least give blessing to the person who sits on the throne, so that the people of the country will be satisfied." Dimethic explained.

"Uh…huh." Gohan replied. "Your story would make a good movie. Apart from that, it's just fiction."

"Are you saying you don't believe us?"

"Duh, yeah!" Nicholas said.

"Hold on, he may not be completely lying." Andrea said.

"What do you mean?" Videl asked.

"Side bar!" Andrea said, as the good guys all went to a corner and huddled around Andrea. "Remember when future lady came? She said that Videl was the last surviving monarch from her planet."

_**Flashback…**_

_"This is between just us." Glycer said as she walked towards them. They all got into a battle stance and Glycer…kneeled down in front of Videl. The others face-faulted.___

__

_"What are you doing?" Videl asked.___

__

_"I am merely bowing to my queen. Is that a crime?" Glycer asked.___

__

_"Huh?!"___

__

_"Look, my two bosses aren't even from our planet. They're green for Pete's sake! I only followed their orders because…"___

__

_"Because what?!" Gohan snapped.___

__

_"They're stronger than us. They're the ones your friends are fighting in the future. I know because that's where we travelled from. They threatened to kill us if we didn't listen to them. But now, I found the only lasting survivor from the monarchy. It's you!" Glycer said as Videl blinked in surprise.___

__

_"Me?!" Videl squeaked.___

__

_"I always said you acted like royalty!" David joked._

_**End Flashback**_

"Remember?" Andrea said.

"Oh yeah." Gohan said.

"That burn was really awful Dave." Nicholas added and was promptly ignored.

"What should we do?" David asked.

"We can't let Videl go." Gohan said. "It is obviously a trap. Zophen said that Medilan was controlling the monarchy of the planet. And besides, things are different to Glycer's world."

"Now you're believing Zophen?" Videl asked. Gohan looked at her puzzled. "I think I should go." Everyone else looked nervously between Videl and Gohan.

"Videl please…"

"No Gohan. We have the chance to stop this. To end this conflict without any death. Why would you want to stop that?"

"I don't. I just don't trust them. For all we know, this could be just a phase in their plan."

"Or maybe you just want to play hero boy."

"Is that what you think of me? That I'm just in this for glory?"

"Why else would anyone want to fight?" Videl looked straight at Gohan demanding an answer. Gohan couldn't believe what he was hearing. There were plenty of reasons to fight, the reasons why his father had sacrificed his life at least twice beforehand. The reasons that everyone he knew and admired fought for. To defend their home and those who lived around them, to protect the innocent people who were drawn into this for no reason. How could Videl not see that? How could she not understand that? Her question left Gohan so angry that he said the first thing that sprung into his mind.

"I'm not like your father Videl, I do this because it's the right thing." Gohan replied. Nicholas stepped in between the two.

"And the referee is calling a low blow. This discussion must stop now." Nicholas said.

"Um, hello?" Iloxane said. "We're still waiting."

"In a minute!" Everyone called back.

"Well what does everyone else think?" Videl said.

"I agree with Gohan." David said. Andrea nodded too.

"I think both sides have valid points." Nicholas said.

"It's a strong possibility of a trap, but maybe if we send Videl along with someone else then they won't try anything." Goku said.

"I say all this standing around and talking is exactly why I'm glad I come from a warrior race." Vegeta added.

"See Gohan, not everyone thinks I'm totally wrong." Videl said.

"I never said you were wrong Videl. I think it's not wise to trust them." Gohan said.

"Why not?"

"They tried to kill my family! That's why!" Gohan said. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Gohan has a point." Nicholas said. "I mean, they have nothing to lose over this. And the bad guys have a trait of double-crossing and the like."

"It's also just a little too convenient that our resident teleporter and psychic happens to be absent. It's like they knew exactly when to propose this meeting." Gohan said. 

"Have you decided to take us up on our offer?" Dimethic asked.

Meanwhile… 

"So we did end up in the right dimension after all." Natalie said. "You're Mom's a genius Trunks!"

"From what you've been telling me, things with the Tocopherans are totally different." M Nicholas said. "It seems all the time travelling done has screwed things up royally. Did they say what they were after?"

"Gohan mentioned that Videl was the one that was attacked first when they came before." Trunks said. "Maybe they were after her."

"Well that makes sense. They probably want to eliminate her before she takes the throne back." M Nicholas said. Trunks and Natalie looked at him confused. "She's technically supposed to be ruling the country. Her ancestor was King or something like that."

"You may want to tell us that before you go musing man." Trunks said. M Nicholas was about to say something when a loud rumbling could be heard. M Nicholas suddenly got up, bo-staff in hand and was crouched in a fighting position. "Um Mirai guy…"

"Sshhh…" M Nicholas said.

"That rumbling is my stomach." Trunks said. "Do you have anything to eat?" M Nicholas face-faulted.

"Here you go Trunks." Natalie said, pulling out a bag of potato chips from her pocket. Both men looked at her like she was mad.

"How did you fit this in there?" Trunks asked.

"Years of practice." Natalie said. "Gohan would always be hungry, and we'd be sitting the library or somewhere and his stomach would start rumbling and we'd get kicked out. It just became a habit for us to carry around extra food. I didn't even realise I was still doing it." She said laughing sheepishly.

"It can't have been that bad."

"His stomach was once louder than the speakers at an Aerosmith concert. And we were right near the speakers."

"Woah."

"Yeah. Nick, we need to know if there's any weakness they have. Or if there's any untapped potential we have. Or if there's some kind of power they have that we don't know about." Natalie said.

"We need the whole nine if we're going to survive this thing." Trunks added. M Nicholas thought hard.

"Mind control." He said.

"Wait, us or them?"

"Both, kind of."

"I'm confused."

"Well they can completely mind control someone. Take their inner thoughts and manipulate them to do their bidding, complete with the illusions of their choice." M Nicholas said. "One of the kids has the power of illusion. Here it's David's son but things are so different in your time I'm not sure if he even exists in your time, let alone if he has that power. He doesn't know how to do mind control though."

"That's Natalie-san's power." Trunks said. M Nicholas looked at Natalie.

"You can do that?" M Nicholas asked. Natalie nodded.

"No big. I practiced a lot." Natalie smiled. "Didn't kick until after med school."

"You're a doctor?!" M Nicholas asked, in shock.

"Why does everyone have that reaction?" Natalie sighed. "I'm not that dumb you know!"

"Getting back on track people…" Trunks said. "Anything else?"

"They are stronger on their home planet than they are here. That gave us a bit of an advantage." M Nicholas said, as he leaned back in his chair and sighed. "After you guys defeated the main guys, we managed to drive the rest of them from here…they've been gone for about six months now. We're always on guard, never relaxing, never getting back to normal…we know that the minute we start taking it easy they'll strike and…" He paused and swallowed hard. Trunks and Natalie glanced at each other. Natalie took M Nicholas' hand in hers.

"If you think she's alive, then she is." Natalie said. M Nicholas looked at her, puzzled. "The two of you share a link that can never be broken. She will come back to you as long as you believe she can." M Nicholas smiled.

"Who else is here?" Trunks asked.

"We've had to be stationed in different areas around the world to keep check. The only ones here are myself, my son Thomas and Lindsey and her family." M Nicholas said. "Although, I think it'd be best if you avoided contact with everyone else. Seeing you may affect them."

"Sure." Natalie said. "Wait, Lindsey? Lindsey is alive?" M Nicholas nodded. "Do you mind if I just see her? From a distance I mean."

"Why?" Trunks asked.

"I want to see how she would've looked like…if, you know." Natalie said sadly. M Nicholas took her outside a room. Natalie peeked into the doorway and gasped quietly. Lindsey was playing with her two children, both girls and a man, whom Natalie assumed was her husband, looked on at them. Natalie did not notice the tears welling up in her eyes as she watched. She took her head out of the doorway and smiled.

"She always wanted to have daughters." Natalie said.

"You okay?" Trunks asked.

"Yep, and I'm about ready to kick some alien butt." Natalie said. "But first, you're going to have to school us Nick."

"What do you mean?" M Nicholas asked.

"You've got one of the most brilliant technical minds in this boy here," Natalie said, pointing to Trunks. She then pointed to herself and said "and you've got the only doctor in Gohan-tachi. So you're gonna teach us everything Tocopheran."

"Of course, he can explain how their technology works to me and then…" Trunks said.

"How our powers work and how we can use them to kick serious ass." Natalie finished.

"And of course save the world right?" M Nicholas asked.

"Yeah, that too." They both replied. M Nicholas sweat-dropped.

Meanwhile, back to 'Gohan-tachi'… 

"Give us a little more time…" Gohan said, but Dimethic put up his hand.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have time." Dimethic said. "We tried to be fair but…"

"Wait!" Videl said.

"Yes?"

"I'll go."

"You'll WHAT?!" Gohan yelled.

"Gohan, we have to think outside the box. This doesn't concern just us. The whole world may be at stake! We will kick ourselves if we don't at least see this through." Videl said.

"They are taking you to the place where they have the most power." Gohan said. "Only a fool would walk this blindly into a trap."

"Fine, then I'll be a fool." Videl said. "I'd rather be a fool than condemn innocent people to death."

"What makes you think they even want anything to do with Earth?" Gohan asked.

"They tried to kill your family." Videl said. Gohan sighed.

"Then I'm coming with you." Gohan said.

"Not a good idea G. It should be one of us that go." Nicholas said. "They could zap your powers too, look at what happened to your dad." Gohan sighed.

"Nothing ever goes my way." Gohan said jokingly.

"Okay, how do we decide?" Andrea asked.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Nicholas said.

"No! You always cheat!" David said.

"How in the hell can I cheat at rock, paper, scissors?" Nicholas asked.

"Boys!" Andrea yelled. "Short straw goes?"

"Fi-ne." Nicholas and David sighed. They picked straws and David got the short straw.

"Well, m'lady. Let us go to our doom." David said.

"Try being a little more positive Dave." Videl said.

"Vid, we're going to the home base of people that have tried to kill us. I'm about as positive as a battery's butt."

"I always thought that the positive side **was **the butt." Nicholas said.

"What the hell could be positive about the butt? The topside is so obviously the positive side." David replied.

"Well, that's open to interpretation. I mean, putting myself in the battery's position, I think my butt is my positive point. I've been told so many times."

"But technically if you were a battery, your 'butt' would be your feet. And the way those boys stink on a hot day, you'd better believe they are a negative point."

"Damn it, you're right." Nicholas cursed. "Damn you and your rational logic."

"These are the people we are supposed to be afraid of? I'm not very impressed." Iloxane whispered to Dimethic.

"Videl…" Gohan said.

"Yes?" Videl said. Gohan cleared his throat and then awkwardly looked down at the floor. He then ran his hand through his hair and before Videl could ask what he was doing, he pulled her close to him and gave her a soft kiss.

"Sorry, I don't do well with public displays of affection." Gohan said bashfully. "Be careful."

"I will."

"Remember that I love you."

"I love you too Gohan. No matter what." Videl said, as they gave each other one last embrace.

"Are we done with this? I'm getting bored." Iloxane said.

"Yes." Videl snapped. "Come on David."

"I bid all thee farewell." David said, bowing.

"Hey, jokes are my department okay?" Nicholas said. "Don't think that you're gonna get away with it just because you're being all heroic."

"Love you too Nick." David replied. Nicholas stuck his tongue out. "Andie, I'll try and be back before dinner. But in case anything happens to me, I have a big wad of cash stuffed inside one of my Flash comics."

"You will come back fine, or I'll kick your butt." Andrea said. Videl and David walked towards the three aliens.

"Okay, so fire it up or whatever." Videl said, as all five of them disappeared.

"Let the worrying begin!" Nicholas said, in an announcer type voice.

"I hope we're doing the right thing." Gohan sighed.

"Hey tousan, nii-chan, is it alright if I go out for a while?" Goten asked. Gohan looked over at Goten, getting ready to say no but Goten gave him the puppy dog look. Gohan sighed, looked over to Goku for approval and Goku nodded.

"Fine, you can go." Gohan said. "But take a cell. And make it quick."

"Thanks!" Goten said, as he sped out of the door.

"Ahh, young love." Nicholas commented. Everyone else gave him a quizzical look. "Come on, it's so obvious!"

Downtown… 

**YOU HAVE NO NEW MESSAGES.**

CJ sighed. Ever since the incident on the news two days ago, she had been trying like crazy to contact Goten. All she kept getting was his answering machine. 

"Goten no baka." She sighed. She needed to know if he was all right, if he would come back to her. After the other night, she could not lose him now. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She opened the door and her heart jumped. "Goten!" She said, forgetting herself and throwing her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Then it's safe to say you're glad to see me." Goten said. CJ nodded and then punched him in the stomach. "OW! What the hell was that for?!"

"For not calling me! For not checking your damn messages! For not letting me know that you were alive!" CJ said, shaking her fist at him. Goten blinked.

"You were worried about me?" Goten asked. CJ looked at him aghast.

"Oh for the love of…of course I was worried about you! What kind of stupid question is that?!" CJ yelled, throwing her arms in the air.

"I'm sorry. I haven't had the time." Goten said. "I didn't think you'd be this wigged about it."

"Wigged? Wigged?! Oh I'm damn more than just wigged Son Goten!" CJ exclaimed. "After the other night…"

"Geez, I'm sorry. I should've realised that we'd be more in sync after that." Goten said, slapping his forehead. CJ raised an eyebrow. Goten walked towards her and kissed her cheek. "We could go at it again, if you want."

"At it? Again?" CJ said, blushing. Her eyes widened in realisation.

"Yes, Cassandra." Goten said. "Wouldn't you like that?" CJ backed away from him. "What's the matter?" In a split second, CJ had whip-kicked him across the face and Goten went flying across the room.

"I don't know who you are, but you're not Goten." CJ said. 'Goten' started to chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"I didn't think you'd see through my disguise so soon."

"I know Goten a lot better than you thought. Don't underestimate us Earthlings, we're pretty sharp." CJ replied.

"I don't know whether to be shocked or angry that you know so much."

"Follow your feelings, they won't misguide you."

"Okay." He said, getting up. "I'm feeling pretty pissed off." He lunged towards her as CJ braced herself for a fight.

Meanwhile, a few blocks down… 

Goten got off the bus and started to make his way to CJ's. he couldn't help but think to himself how much he missed his powers. He ran out of energy half the way here and had to take the bus. How did people cope not being able to fly everywhere? He just couldn't understand how. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice.

"Goten!" Goten turned around to see it was CJ that was calling him.

"Hey." Goten smiled and walked towards her. "I was just coming to visit you."

"How about we get a coffee and talk?" CJ said. Goten linked his arm with hers and they walked on to the nearest coffee shop.

Back to the time travellers… 

"I think that's everything." M Nicholas said. Natalie hugged him.

"Thank you so much for all your help." Natalie said.

"This technology is amazing! They are so far advanced!" Trunks said and continued to babble on while the other two talked.

"I think you just made his life." Natalie laughed.

"I just hope that this is enough to help you."

"Seeing how things have turned out, we're gonna have to make it work." Natalie said. "A lot of things have been put in perspective for me."

"Don't be to harsh on other me." M Nicholas said. "He loves you a lot."

"Yeah, I love him too. But I think I hurt his feelings. I told him he wasn't funny." M Nicholas' face fell.

"You think we're not funny?"

"No! I just said that because I was mad." Natalie said. "Geez, it's a good thing I didn't see him make that face. I would've started to cry." M Nicholas pouted.

"No one appreciates a good joker anymore." M Nicholas said. "Kids these days hate humour. They feel they've got to be angst-esque to be cool. I blame new rock!"

"Finished ranting?"

"Hai…"

"Okay. Trunks, set the watches." Natalie said. Trunks set both watches.

"All we've got to do now is press the green button." Trunks said.

"Okay, it's morphing time!" Natalie said. Trunks looked at her confused. "Before your time sweetie."

"Ooookay." Trunks said. They both pressed the buttons and disappeared.

Back at CC… 

"So, when they make a movie about this escapade who do you think will play us?" Andrea said.

"I really don't think this is the time to be talking about that Andie." Gohan said.

"I call dibs on Johnny Depp." Nicholas said.

"No friggin way! I was gonna say that!" Gohan said. "You're too tall to be played by him."

"Hi!" Trunks said, as he and Natalie walked into the living room.

"Hey Trunks, settle the argument man. Shouldn't I be played by Johnny Depp?"

"I don't know Gohan, I see more of a Tom Welling in you." Trunks said. After a moment, everyone realised what had happened.

"You guys are back!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Boy, nothing gets pass you guys." Trunks said. A small yelp was heard from Natalie and everyone looked over to see that Nicholas had quite literally 'glomped' her.

"I can't breathe!" She squealed. Nicholas let go and looked at her relieved. She smiled and hugged him.

"You're not mad anymore?" Nicholas asked.

"Oh I am, just not mad enough."

"Yay!"

"I'm still that mad though."

"Aww…"

"Hey, where's Videl?" Trunks asked.

"She's gone." Gohan replied. Trunks and Natalie's eyes widened.

"Oh for the love of fuzzy blue elves, please tell me you did not let her go with the evil alien guys?" Natalie said groaning.

"Okay, but then I'd be lying." Gohan said.

"Bugger."

To Be Continued…

Well, well! Confusion galore! Stay tuned to see what happens! I'll update ASAP.


	7. Videl vs Mara

Rifts and Changes 

**Chapter Seven: Videl vs. Mara**

A/N: Okay kids, I know it's been a long time but we've all seen what happens when I rush chapters right? Yeah. We don't wanna go there again. Anyways, enjoy the chapter.

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"Bugger! Bugger! Bugger!" Natalie cursed.

"You know, not everyone knows what that means. Care to translate for all of us?" Vegeta asked.

"It basically means %*^@$&!" Natalie replied.

"Woah, not good then."

"Trunks, if you would." Natalie said. Trunks nodded and proceeded downstairs. There was a brief silence. "Sooo…did I miss anything important?"

"How could you leave and not tell us?" Nicholas asked.

"How could you fight and not tell me?" Natalie retorted.

"Oh so that's what it was. You just wanted to get back at us."

"Yes, that's exactly why I did it. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was a good plan and our best hope of getting information. I just wanted to piss you off."

"Could you be anymore sarcastic?"

"Only if I wanted to turn into you." Before Nicholas could give her a comeback, the electricity in the whole building went off.

"See, even the electricity is sick of you two arguing." Gohan said.

"Gohan tries and tries but it's too late. The joke falls completely flat." Nicholas said.

"Okay, that can't be good." Andrea said.

"No, it's good." Natalie said.

"You're being awfully cryptic." Bulma said. "Did everything go okay? Did you get to the right timeline?"

"Yes and yes." Natalie replied. "The reason for the blackout is, we've been bugged. Cameras and mikes in every freakin nook and cranny."

"NANI?!" Everyone else exclaimed.

"When Medilan said he'd been watching you Gohan he wasn't kidding. Mirai Nick told us that when the Tocopherans first landed on their planet they put them under surveillance to study them and such. Lucky for us, they were stupid enough to hook it up to the main electricity."

"So Trunks is fixing it?" Bulma asked.

"Hopefully."

"They've been watching us for ten years?!" Gohan exclaimed.

"As far as I can tell, they've been watching any Saiyan household. Because you'd be the biggest threat or whatever."

"How much else did you learn?" Vegeta asked.

"A lot, which we need to discuss straight away, especially since Videl and David are at the friggin mothership." Natalie said. The back-up generators came on and Trunks came back upstairs with a smug grin on his face.

"It wasn't easy but I did it." Trunks grinned.

"You'll get a cookie later." Gohan said. "Why especially now that Videl and David are gone?"

"Tocopherans are stronger at home base Gohan. Videl is in great danger." Natalie said.

"She's gonna be killed?"

"No, I'm afraid it's something much more worse than that." Natalie said.

"She's going to kill you." Zophen said, breaking his silence. Everyone looked at him in shock.

"She's the traitor Zophen was here to warn us against. He was sent here to help us defeat her." Natalie said. 

"I think all that time travelling rattled your brain." Vegeta said.

"No Tousan, it's true." Trunks said. "We spent ages deciphering that message that was sent through Natalie-san and Videl is the only one it could be."

"It's not true." Gohan said. "Videl would never turn her back on us. She went up there to for peaceful negotiations."

"Peaceful negotiations? Videl?" Natalie asked, in disbelief. "Those guys tried to kill everyone dear to her and she went for peaceful negotiations? Come on Gohan, this is Videl we're talking about. She likes to kick ass more than you do."

"Don't you dare talk about my wife like that." Gohan said icily. "Unlike you she has grown up and isn't as reckless nor impulsive as she was when we were younger. You don't know her as well as I do."

"She's your wife sure, but she's been one of my closest friends since we were four. I think I know her pretty damn well." Natalie said. "She is the traitor but not by her own accord. At least not fully."

"Are you saying she's under mind control?" Goku asked.

"Yes." Natalie replied. **_Reckless and impulsive, ne? I knew it! I knew I was right!**_

"Videl can easily be taken under mind control because her mind has had no training. Her powers come from her physically not mentally so her mind is weaker than someone whose power comes solely from the mind." Trunks explained.

"Like telekinesis." Andrea said. "I knew I should've gone with her!"

"This is very bad." Goku said. He tilted his head sideways and mused for a bit. "Trunks, is there any way that she won't fall under this mind control?"

"Yes." Trunks said. "Let me try and explain. Say there's a fan of baseball but you want to mind control them to hate the game. You can't do it if they love the game entirely. However, if they like another sport like basketball for instance, you can persuade them that they like basketball and slowly convince them to like it more than baseball. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"You can only manipulate thoughts that are already there." Goku said. "I have to say, it's a very ingenious power. It's a shame that the bad guys have that ability."

"I only hope that Videl is strong enough to fight off the mind control." Trunks said.

"She is." Gohan said, in a manner that no one could argue against. Not that anyone was going to try anyway.

"So Mr Zophen, now that the so-called traitor is gone. You need to tell us everything." Vegeta said.

"Vegeta, I'll only tell you once. Do not refer to my wife like that." Gohan said, as he left the room. Natalie sighed.

"He's taking this a whole lot worse than I thought he would."

"I know how he feels though. I mean, if someone told me that you were pulling an Anakin Skywalker…" Nicholas said.

"I think you'd deal just fine."

"Huh?"

"I mean, crossing to the dark side and being mentally and emotionally unstable. They aren't that different. And you seem to be dealing just fine now." Natalie said, sitting down on the sofa. Andrea and Nicholas exchanged guilty glances.

"Where's Goten?" Trunks asked.

"He went to go see one of your girl friends. I forget which one." Goku said. Trunks turned blue. "What? Is she evil now too?!"

"No Goku-san. Trunks just had a funny experience in the future." Natalie laughed.

"IT WAS NOT FUNNY!" Trunks yelled. "IT WAS AWFUL!"

"It was so funny! You were almost crying." Natalie said, stifling a giggle. "See, Trunks was married to his friend with the glasses in the alternate timeline."

"Juliana?" Bulma asked, grinning mischievously. "That's very interesting."

"It is NOT! It's horrifying." Trunks said, grabbing his head. "She was bossing other me around SO much! It was awful! He looked so depressed! Course, that might've been because of the state of the Earth over there but I sincerely doubt it."

"Don't worry Trunks, he went to go see the little hat girl." Nicholas said. Trunks breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile… 

CJ got up and wiped the blood from her mouth. Whoever this guy was, he was not a natural fighter. He could defend himself sure, but she could beat him. If only he wasn't wearing Goten's face she might not have been so…distracted. He launched himself at her and she leapfrogged over him and he went slamming into the wall.

"I play the music too loud, neighbours complain. I'm fighting for my life and they couldn't give a rat's-oof!" CJ's spiel was cut short as the impostor belted her in the stomach and sent her flying. Luckily for her, he sent her near the drawer where she kept her gun. She pulled it out and stood up pointing it straight at him. He blinked and then started laughing.

"There's no way you're going to shoot me. Earthlings are prone to have guilty consciences about these things." He said. CJ cocked the gun and shot him in the shoulder. He looked at the wound and saw that there was no blood. He was about to say something but then fell unconscious.

"I'm not your run of the mill Earthling." CJ said, putting the gun away. "How in the heck am I going to get this guy to Trunks'?" She sighed and slung him over her shoulder. She walked outside and down the street with onlookers giving her strange glances. CJ rolled her eyes. "Idiots. The fate of the world is hanging in the balance and all they can do is stare and point at me. Ignorance is stupidity not bliss." She walked by a café shop when a familiar figure caught her eye. "Oh no…" She made her way into the café.

"So, about the other night…what I said…" Goten tried to say but 'CJ' shushed him.

"We'll talk about that later. Right now I just want to melt in your glance."

"Melt in my…? Ceej, are you feeling alright?" Goten asked.

"I'm feeling just fine. This lady you're with on the other hand…" Goten looked behind him and saw CJ, a bit battered and bleeding, with what looked like his double on the floor. He then looked back to who he thought was CJ, and she was looking a little bit nervous. Goten looked between the two again and again before he sighed. His lip started to tremble and he cried out

"MY CONFUSION KNOWS NO BOUNDS!" Before thumping his head on the table. Everyone in the café sweat-dropped. CJ sighed and poked him in the back.

"Goten? Come on! We need to get this guy to Trunks' before he wakes up! Goten? Come on honey, wake up!" CJ said. Goten's head rose as he looked at CJ with a sly grin on his face.

"Did you just call me honey?" Goten asked. CJ blushed furiously and shook her head.

"N-no! You're just so overwhelmed by what's happening! You heard what you wanted to hear!"

"Mmm hmm. Well I still think that you did."

"Well, while you amuse yourself, my impostor is getting away."

"Huh?!" Goten ran outside and looked around the street but couldn't find her. "Damn it! COME BACK YOU ALIEN WEARING THAT PRETTY FACE!" This time, CJ came up behind him smirking.

"You think I'm pretty?" She teased. Goten turned around and smiled.

"I think you're beautiful." Goten replied sincerely. CJ, caught by surprised, covered her face with her hands and blushed.

"Shut up! I am not!"

"Uh, Ceej? You kind of dropped **my** impostor. On his head…or my head, I'm not sure which."

"Oh. Well it's a good thing. The tranquilliser was starting to wear off."

In space… 

"Oh my God…"

"David?"

"Oh my God…"

"David!"

"Oh my God…"

"DAVID!"

"What?! Geez Videl! I'm staring into the abyss and all you can do is yell at me." David took his face off the ship window, which was facing Earth. "When they said space was vast, they weren't kidding."

"You give all blondes a bad name Dave." Videl said. "I can't believe they're making us wait out here! I'm royalty for goodness sakes." David looked at her.

"Woah, be careful Vid. You almost sound like you believe that."

"Well I am technically."

"But not officially. And I thought you hated technicalities."

"Shut up David." Videl sighed. David raised an eyebrow and put his hands behind his head.

"PMS must suck man." Before Videl could answer him, Dimethic came out from a room.

"Medilan will see you now." Dimethic said, as he cleared the way for Videl and David. They did not see him smirking evilly as the door closed behind them. They walked into the office type room and saw Medilan sitting behind what looked like a desk.

"Alright Mister Villain of the Week, what the hell are you going do you want to do to stop this little war of yours?" David demanded.

"David, zip it." Videl said, looking to Medilan. "You heard what the man said! Speak!"

"Do not bark orders at me." Medilan said. "Dimethic, if you would…"

"Certainly." Dimethic said, as he closed his eyes. Videl suddenly collapsed to the floor, grabbing her head in pain.

"Videl?" David asked, as he crouched down next to her. She just continued to scream in agony. Before anyone else could anticipate what was going on, David had Dimethic in a stranglehold. "Let her go, or else I break your head off."

"How'd you…?!"

"Super speed baby."

"You fool." Medilan chuckled. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into." David looked at him but refused to let go of his stranglehold. David suddenly found himself moving without his permission. He let go of Dimethic and was floating in the air.

"What the…"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you. I may just be tempted to send you there." Medilan said. David was thrown into a wall in the office and was knocked out. "That was easier than I thought it would be. I've grown bored of all this, please finish this as quickly as possible." Medilan left the office.

"I love my job." Dimethic said.

_Back on Earth, CC…_

"I am the son of the Shair of Tocopherat. He's sort of like a President or Prime Minister in Earth terms. He's worried about Medilan's activities outside his jurisdiction, especially those concerning Earth." Zophen took a short breath. "I do not know why your ancestors were sent here but I know that Medilan seems to think that you are a great threat to any plans he has of someday ruling the planet."

"But we're solar systems away from Tocopherat. We don't even know where the heck it is." Andrea said.

"That's exactly why my father is so worried. He thinks that your ancestors may have been sent here for protection from some outside corrupt force but that theory has yet to be proven. He would have to tell you himself but that would've raised suspicion so I stowed away on Medilan's ship. He found me and put me in the ship's jail cell but I escaped and came to see you." Zophen said. "I was warned by a trusted psychic on our planet that Medilan had come specifically for one of you. I wasn't sure which one and I didn't want to point fingers before I had all the facts. I'm very sorry it's too late."

"It's not. Videl will be fine…" Gohan said, although it was evident from his tone and facial expression that he did not fully believe that. There was a small twinge in his stomach. He could feel that something was wrong with Videl. He could sense that she was in trouble but of course there was nothing he could do. He could not get to her. Natalie was not a strong enough teleporter to take him into space. She barely made it England with the kids. With his father also not able to take him there, all he could do was hope that Videl's will was strong enough to defend herself. A bang through the door interrupted his thoughts. Everyone turned to see Goten, CJ and an unconscious man that looked like Goten's double.

"Okay, did anyone order a shapeshifter?" Nicholas asked out loud.

"Oh my God, CJ are you okay? You look battered." Trunks asked, concerned.

"Because I was. Then I shot him." CJ replied. Everyone looked at her worried. "With a tranquilliser gun. Sheesh."

"There was another shapeshifter that looked like CJ, but she escaped." Goten said. "We caught my double though."

"Hold on, I know why they would target you but why CJ?" Gohan asked.

"They probably wanted information. Because me and CJ are kind of…you know." Goten said, waiting for his brother to catch on. Gohan just looked at Goten blankly. Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"They're mating Baka jr." Vegeta said, rolling his eyes.

"Ohh." Gohan said, grinning mischievously.

"We are NOT!" Goten and CJ said, both blushing with embarrassment.

"I'm glad to see that someone is around here." Nicholas commented directly at his wife.

"WE ARE NOT!" The couple blushed even more.

Elsewhere… 

Videl opened her eyes and got up. A sharp pain shot through her head. She winced in pain and took in her surroundings. She was in what seemed to her as a mystic void of a dark purplish hue. It looked a lot like the ones in the horror films she used to watch as a teenager.

"Where am I?" She said, her voice echoing.

"You're in our subconscious darling." A voice said. A voice which Videl found very familiar. She looked around and saw herself. Videl couldn't believe it. "It's not a reflection. I'm much better looking than you."

"You're me?"

"In a sense. I'm the part of you that you've been trying to suppress for so long. I'm the side of you that you get your powers from. Unfortunately, since you're more human than anything else you've been able to keep me quiet."

"What's changed now?" Videl asked. The other Videl smirked and pointed behind her. Videl turned around and saw Dimethic. She gasped as she saw Dimethic walk over to her other self and plant a very passionate kiss on her. "Hey! Hey!" They ignored her cries and carried on. "Hey, stop that! We're married to Gohan!!" They pulled apart and looked at her with amused expressions.

"Maybe you are but I sure as hell wouldn't marry that guy." She said.

"Videl…"

"Ah, ah! I do not like being called by that disgraceful name. That's who you are. I am Mara." 'Mara' said. Videl looked at her confused.

"This isn't real. It's just a dream." Videl said to herself, inhaling and exhaling to calm herself down. Mara walked towards Videl and stood in front of her.

"This is not a dream. I am real. I am you, the real you. Every time you've lost your temper for no reason, that was I. Anytime you found someone besides your husband attractive, that was I. Anytime you did something horrible or bad, that was me trying to break free of the prison you put me in. We could have been a great team, if you had let us join together as one. But since you're unwilling to cooperate I am going to take over." Mara said. Suddenly the ground beneath Videl began shifting and rose upwards creating a cage around her. Mara smiled and began to cackle evilly.

"Stop this please!" Videl cried. "I never meant to do this to you!" 

"Of course you did! There's a reason why it's called the subconscious darling and it's because you aren't aware of what's going on." Mara said. "You weren't aware that you were pushing me aside. I embody everything dark about you Videl. I am the desires, the lust, and the power that you are afraid to embrace. Your fears have held you back but they will not hold me back."

"I will not allow you to do this!" Videl said. "Even if you succeed my husband will stop you."

"You really think he'll be able to kill the love of his life." Mara said mockingly. Videl's eyes widened. She realised that Mara was right. There was nothing she could do. Gohan could not come and fight in her subconscious and he would never kill her either. Mara smiled. "Don't worry, it won't be that bad. I'm planning to have loads of fun!" Mara linked her arm with Dimethic and waved to Videl before they disappeared.

"Gohan…" Videl said, as she fell to the bottom of her cage and began weeping.

Back with Gohan-tachi… 

"So, Ceej." Goten said, sitting beside her on the bed in the infirmary. "How did you know that it wasn't me?" CJ looked down embarrassed.

"He talked weird, said 'wigged' and he called me by my first name, which you don't know." CJ said. "He also implied that we'd slept together and tried to again."

"NANI?!" Goten exclaimed. "I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"It's okay, I already did that." CJ smiled. Goten calmed down and took her hand.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

"Goten, I'm just glad you're here now."

"There was something that I wanted to tell you. The other night, when I told you how I felt, I meant it."

"I know."

"I never got an answer from you."

"…I know."

"Well, am I going to get one?" Goten asked. CJ chuckled. Goten looked at her confused.

"If you don't already know the answer Son Goten, then I'm afraid you're just going to have to find out the hard way." She smirked and patted his face.

"Sonna…! Not the hard way! I hate the hard way! It's very hard!" Goten pouted. She smiled and inched closer to his face. He started to blush. "CJ?"

"This ought to tide you over for a while." CJ said, before giving him a quick peck on the lips. CJ leaned back in her bed and left Goten with a dazed expression.

"As if I weren't confused enough…"

"Guys, come in here quick!" Bulma yelled. Everyone that could gathered in the monitor room and saw Dimethic on the screen.

"How the hell? I took out all your technology!" Trunks exclaimed.

"Satellite transmission." Nicholas replied.

"Oh. Good, wasn't my fault then."

"What do you want?" Vegeta demanded.

"To tell you that our negotiations failed. No truce."

"Then send Videl and David back." Andrea said. Dimethic laughed.

"Your husband is a little indisposed at the moment. As for Mara, she does not want to come back."

"Who the hell is Mara?" Gohan demanded.

"That would be me." Videl said, coming into view.

"Videl?" Gohan said, in disbelief.

"Hello lover. Shocked to see me?"

"Y-you're not Videl. You can't be!"

"Well you're kinda right. I prefer to go by Mara now."

"Dang girl, what are you wearing? It looks like an evil slut threw up on you!" Nicholas exclaimed.

"Nick, this is not the time." Natalie whispered.

"Stop this madness Videl and come back." Gohan said.

"I can't. I'm evil now." Videl said, in an almost humorous tone.

"You are not evil, you are good person!" Gohan said.

"Gohan please, don't goad her on." Natalie whispered.

"I have to talk some sense into her!"

"She will do something we'll all regret."

"Shut up! For the last time you do not know Videl. Just because you're crazy doesn't mean she is." Gohan said. Natalie pursed her lips together.

"Fine." Natalie said, leaving the room.

"Tsk, tsk Gohan baby. You should have listened to her." Videl said. "Women's intuition is never wrong."

"What are you talking about Videl?" Gohan said. He saw an unspeakable evil cross Videl's face as she grinned at him.

"I'm about to do something that you will all regret." Videl said. The picture on the monitor changed from inside the ship to the outside of a house.

"Good lord, that's our house." Nicholas said. "Everyone is there!"

"Please, don't tell me she's going to…" Before Bulma could finish her sentence the house blew up. The explosion was so powerful that it left the whole house burning with cinders falling everywhere. Everyone was put into a stunned silence. Gohan's breathing was the only thing that could be heard, as he was breathing in short quick breaths.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Gohan screamed in agony. The others looked as crestfallen as he did.

Back on the spaceship… 

"My lady, why are there tears falling from your eyes?" Dimethic asked.

"I don't know…" Videl said. "I guess I am still not in full control." Dimethic came and put his arms around her.

"Soon you will have everything you want." He said.

"Yes. Soon."

To Be Continued…

Sorry guys, I know it's a cliffhanger. For once I actually wanted to not do a cliffhanger but I don't have the rest of the story written yet and this seemed like the only way to end it and still make sense. I will try and update as soon as possible okay? Bye!


	8. Explosions and Freakazoid and George Clo...

Rifts and Changes 

**Chapter Eight: Explosions and Freakazoid and George Clooney, oh my!**

A/N: I tried to get this out faster, really I did. I think I've peeved a lot of people, sorry minna! But I did finished Weiss Kreuz! Celebrations! Anyhoo, instead of my usual evilness at the end of each chapter I've decided to list out any cultural references I make, since not everyone is as old nor as geekish as me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh God…" Bulma said. Everyone else in the room was just as stunned. They had put most of their family there, as a safe house and now they were all dead.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Vegeta said, punching his hand into a wall. He ignored the pain in his hand as he thought about Bra, his little princess, dead. "How could that baka woman do something like that?!"

"Quit it Vegeta, we don't know the full story yet." Gohan said, his voice barely audible. Vegeta turned to him fully enraged.

"Are you brain dead?! How in the hell can you defend her after she just blew up your kids, our kids, our families?! She blew up the f*&$£%@g house, in front of our eyes and without any hesitation or remorse! There's the damn full story!" Vegeta yelled. Goku put his hand on Vegeta's shoulder, signalling that that was enough. Vegeta just tutted and stalked into a corner. Everyone else was just deadly silent, some shocked to tears. Suddenly, the front door of the house opened and in walked little Michael. Everyone who knew the little boy looked at him wide-eyed. He went and tugged at Nicholas' sleeve.

"Dad, where's Mum?" Michael asked. Nicholas, in total shock, did not answer and simply pointed in the direction his wife went. "Ta much." He said, and hobbled off. Everyone watched him walk off in total shock.

"Everyone else saw that right?!" Nicholas asked. Everyone nodded. "So I'm not crazy?!"

"Well, now that's debateable." Andrea replied. Nicholas ran in the direction Michael went, and after a beat everyone else followed. They went in and saw Michael hugging Natalie.

"Aww Mikey, I didn't know you missed me."

"You were gone for a whole day! Course I missed you!"

"You're so cute! But how did you know the way to get here?"

"I followed all the signs! You're gonna have to take me back, I forgot how to get back."

"Oh God, Mikey!" Nicholas exclaimed. "You're alright!" Nicholas picked up his son and hugged the cripes out of the kid.

"Um Dad? You're acting a bit girly."

"Sorry. But how come you're not dead?"

"What?" Michael said, his lower lip quivering.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" Natalie asked. "You don't say that to a little kid!"

"Sorry but Videl blew up our house! And everyone was in it!" Nicholas said.

"Except Michael apparently." Andrea commented.

"What? No, I moved them from there before I went time travelling. Didn't Zophen tell you?" Natalie asked. Everyone turned to glare daggers at Zophen and he slapped his forehead.

"In all the panic, I totally forgot!" Zophen said.

"YOU FORGOT?!" Everyone yelled.

"I'm sorry buddy, I didn't mean anything by it." Nicholas said to Michael.

"It's okay."

"Natalie, why didn't you tell us?" Gohan demanded.

"There wasn't really time."

"There wasn't really time?!"

"Echo…? No, ah well."

"You really are a nutcase!" Gohan seethed. Everyone sweat-dropped as Natalie narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah, well…at least I don't have a man crush on George Clooney!"

"Did you have to go there? I mean really." Gohan said, as everyone looked at him weirdly.

"I anticipated something like this might happen so I told the telepath to move them before she left to the alternate timeline. She didn't really have the time to tell you." Zophen said, defending Natalie. Everyone in the room either sighed with relief (Vegeta) or celebrated in jubilation (everyone else).

"Do you know where they are?" Gohan asked. Zophen shook his head. "I guess we'll have to ask Natalie."

"Good luck baka." Vegeta said. "You just called her a nutcase and from what I've seen of that onna she's got a temper that can rival this onna." Vegeta pointed to Bulma, who in turn gave him a dirty look.

"Sonna…" Goku sighed. (I can't believe it)

A While Later… 

"Sonna…" Goku sighed again. Gohan had been trying for the past ten minutes to apologise to Natalie but she had put on a walkman (no one knew where from) and was blasting music to block him out. 

"Natalie, come on…" Gohan tried.

"Semete, semete ito igiri no ai wo. Mune ni imete anata to tabitatou…" (1) Natalie sang.

"Please don't drown me out, this is important."

"Tooku, tooku sasou youna heaven. Kiete shimau maborosi da toshite moii sa!" (2)

"Natalie!"

"No, no, no don't cry!!" (3) Natalie sang, as Nicholas, Goku and Goten all sang along."You guys!" Gohan said, annoyed."Gomen…" They, except Natalie who was still singing, apologised."Its just such a catchy song!" Goten grinned sheepishly. 

"Let me try talking to her son." Goku said.

"No, I have to."

"But she's mad at you."

"She is not, she's just mad at the situation."

"I've seen loads of girls mad like that Gohan, and I can definitely tell she is mad at you."

"Fine!" Gohan said, annoyed. "You talk to her then."

"Okay!" Goku said cheerfully. He walked over to Natalie and tapped her shoulder politely. "Excuse me?" Natalie took off her headphones. "Can you tell us where you took everyone else?"

"Sure Goku-san, they're at lil comic book girls secret lair." Natalie replied.

"Arigatou!" (Thank you)

"Doo Itashimashite." (You're welcome) Everyone else face-faulted.

"Lil comic book girl, she must mean Remy." Trunks deduced. "I mean, that place of hers is practically a bomb shelter! And it's twenty minutes from here."

"Yeah, and since she's moved all her things into a top secret safe somewhere it has the perfect place!" Goten said.

"Top secret safe?"

"Yeah, her stuff is worth a fortune."

"Damn, she was right. I knew I should've kept my comic books."

"You collected comic books?"

"I casually read them. I wasn't a die hard fan or anything."

"Can we get back to the point?" Gohan said. The two best friends looked down at the floor embarrassed. "Seeing as we have a better safe house I say we should move between those two places."

"So let's all get down there." Vegeta said, walking out of the room. Bulma smiled and followed him. Everyone soon piled out of the room, leaving Natalie and Gohan.

"Natalie…"

"Don't say anything. I don't want to hear it."

"I didn't mean what I said."

"Why lie Gohan?"

"To make you feel better?"

"To make yourself feel less guilty."

"No…"

"Bottom line; you can't trust me. We've been friends since high school Gohan. We've been through a lot of crap together, and I thought more than anyone you'd at least understand what I was going through."

"You were willing to kill another human being." There was a brief silence.

"After what she did, can you blame me?"

"That still doesn't justify it."

"I made my choice Gohan. That day, you were all there. I decided not to kill my mother because if I did then I would've become just like her. I know the difference between right and wrong, I am not a child. The fact that you thought I was so unstable, that I couldn't take the drama really shows me what you think of me."

"We were just protecting you."

"You cannot protect me from my memories Gohan." Natalie sighed. "You really think so little of my character Gohan?  I know she wasn't one of your androids or killer alien or superpowered villain or some demon type thing, but she was my own personal demon to defeat. And I did, the right way. If you were so worried that I couldn't handle it, why didn't you talk to me?"

"I didn't want to upset you."

"So, you thought that by telling about the Tocopherans coming before would be the final straw and that I'd snap and kill someone. Therefore permanently going off the deep end."

"…Yes."

"But ironically enough, it was you who killed someone and now it's your wife who's gone off the deep end. Funny how life turns out huh?" Natalie got up and left Gohan there stunned. She realised her words had hurt him, it was what she had intended to do, but she still couldn't help the way she felt. Her friends; who were practically family, her husband; the love of her life, she would've trusted them with her life and they couldn't even trust her with this. She was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake not erasing that event from their memories when she had the chance.

Gohan, on the other hand, was at a loss for what he was feeling. His wife was evil. His father was powerless. His friend was captured. He couldn't understand how his father could do this again and again throughout his life and still keep his childlike innocence. Gohan loved Videl with all his heart, and now he would have to fight her. Possible he would…no, he would never let it get that far. He just hoped it would never come to that.

At Remy's… 

"This place still looks exactly the same on the outside huh?" Goten said, as Trunks nodded. They knocked on the front door, with everyone else behind them. They waited for a while and then knocked again. They knocked a third time and the door opened furiously. All the now powerless semi-Saiya-jins could see was a luminous green light heading towards them.

"AAAH!" They yelled and grabbed the green light. They looked up and saw that they were holding a toy light sabre (4), and that Remy was holding said light sabre. "Remy?"

"Trunks, Goten!" She said, dropping the sabre and hugging them. Now older, Remy had lost the grungy look she had well into her late teens and had become a pretty young woman. "I'm so glad you guys are okay! Marron told me everything that happened. How could you not call and say you were fine?!"

"That's exactly what I said." CJ said.

"CJ!"  
"No! No hugs Remy! I'm injured!"

"Who did it? I'll kick his ass."

"With a toy light sabre?"

"Shut up Trunks! I have a real one downstairs."

"I'm not even going to ask where you got that."

"Will you children stop babbling about crap and let me into the damn house!?" Vegeta demanded. They stood out of the doorway and Vegeta stormed in followed by everyone else.

"Your dad is still as colourful as ever I see." Remy smirked. Trunks just stuck his tongue out at her.

A million hugs and kisses later… 

"Mama did what?!" Pan yelled.

"I know it's hard to believe honey but we will get her back." Gohan said, trying his best to soothe her. The parents had decided to tell the older kids, meaning Pan, Drake, Claudia and the twins what had happened and that it was best to tell the younger ones only if needed.

"I can't believe she would do something like that!"

"Pan honey, it's not her exactly. It's complicated…"

"It's Mama right?"

"Technically…"

"I don't want technically Daddy!" Gohan smiled sadly, Pan reminded him so much of Videl.

"We are going to get her back Pan. I promise you that."

"In order to do that, we're going to formulate a plan of attack." Vegeta said, his stoic face suddenly changing to sport a wicked smirk.

"Are you taking notes Danny?" Adrian asked.

"Already halfway down the page bro." Danny replied, quickly studying Vegeta and scribbling on a notepad. Vegeta left the top of the house and went downstairs to where Remy used to keep her merchandise.

"Has he woken up yet?" Vegeta asked. Trunks shook his head.

"How many Mickeys (5) did you give him anyways?" Trunks asked. CJ sweat-dropped.

"Just the one! But then I kind of dropped him on his head. It was an accident." CJ said. Everyone sighed.

"Enough of this." Vegeta said, punching the hostage in the head. Vegeta noticeably winced in pain. "Trunks, punch him." Trunks did but to affect.

"Here, let me do it." Marron said. She pinched the back of his neck and he awoke in a shock. Hamelis looked around him and sighed.

"Damn, I was captured. By a girl. The boss is going to have my head for this." Hamelis said, speaking his native tongue.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Vegeta said, flicking Hamelis' forehead with every 'hey'. "If you're gonna talk you'd better talk in a language we can understand!"

"Fine. Stop flicking me you *%&£$^!"

"…Oh he's going down!"

"Tousan, control yourself!" Trunks exclaimed. "You, you're going to tell us everything we need to know. Now."

"Yeah, and you're gonna stop wearing my face!" Goten said. Hamelis laughed.

"You really think I'm afraid of you? Half of you don't even have your powers, and I'm immune to telepathy. You've got no options, and keeping me here is just a waste of your time as well as mine." Hamelis said.

"Hey Remy, what does this thing do?" CJ asked, holding a small mechanical device. Remy yelled and grabbed it from CJ's hands.

"Don't touch that! It's a matter transporter!"

"Matter transporter?"

"Yep, it can take any one part of any thing and transport it elsewhere."

"Okay, hypothetically, if I wanted to transport a body part from the a body, would it work?" CJ asked, looking menacingly at Hamelis.

"Well yes, an arm or a leg or…" A light bulb went off in Remy's head. "Oohhhhh! I know what you're thinking! Ouch!"

"Indeed!"

"…" Hamelis started sweating bullets.

"How does this thing work?"

"You press the green…"

"OKAY! OKAY!" Hamelis said, crossing his legs in panic. "I'll talk."

"I thought you might." CJ said, giving Remy a sly high five.

"I have no idea what just happened here." Trunks stated.

"Welcome to my world." Goten said.

In another sector downstairs… 

"How on Earth could she fit all this space down here?" Natalie said, in awe as she and Andrea prepared some food for the younger kids, who were currently watching cartoons.

"Yeah, amazing." Andrea replied. Natalie looked at Andrea concerned.

"How are you holding up?"

"Not as good as I need to be."

"He's going to be fine Andie."

"How can you be certain?"

"Because I know that when the chips are down, David will accidentally get himself out of whatever jam he's in."

"Yeah, I guess so." Andrea said, and then started chuckling. "He'll probably annoy them so much they'll kick him out!" They both started laughing and then Andrea's laughter turned into sobbing. Natalie hugged.

"Ssh, it'll be okay honey."

Upstairs… 

"So Zophen, are you homesick? You look a little sad." Pan said, sitting next to Zophen.

"No, I am not homesick. I worry about your mother. She is not at fault and is being used…it just sickens me." Zophen said.

"Oh Zophen, you're so sweet to worry about my Mom!" Pan said, getting all misty-eyed. Zophen looked at her and sweat-dropped. "Do you think we can help her?"

"I am not sure, but I know I will not rest until I have tried my best to help her. I feel somewhat responsible for what happened."

"There wasn't anything you could have done." Pan said. _**He's so intense!**_ "Thanks for helping us Zophen, you didn't have to."

"It's my duty Miss Pan." Zophen said, and again sweat-dropped when Pan blushed and started giggling. _**She is a very strange girl…**_

"Ah damn, Pan made the moves on Zophen first!" Claudia protested.

"I'm sure she's not Claude, her mother's been kidnapped! The last thing she'd think about is some guy." Drake said.

"Look at her, she's turned into a giggling tomato."

"Nani?! Man, she's really lost focus." Drake said, shaking his head. "He's not even that good looking."

"You have no eye for men Drake."

"You better believe it, I only like girls thank you."

"You mean like Pan?"

"Nani?!"

"You do, don't you?"

"No way! She's not my type."

"Cute's not your type?"

"Pan is not my type. We have absolutely nothing in common, and I'm younger than her anyways."

"By a few months."

"Claude, will you please stop trying to entertain yourself? If you're bored go watch TV with the rest of the little kids." Drake said, walking away from her.

"I am not a kid! I'm older than you are Drake!" Claudia said, angrily. "Although, that Freakazoid (6) show does look funny…"

On Medilan's ship… 

"This is the song that never ends! Yes it goes on and on my friends! Some people started singing it not knowing what it was and they'll continue singing it forever just because this is the song that never ends!" (7)

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?! YOU'VE BEEN SINGING THAT DRIBBLE FOR THE LAST THREE HOURS!" A Guard said. Of course, he said it in his native tongue, which David did not understand.

"I have no idea what you just said Double D." (8) David said, in his best Ed impression. Mara came into the cell where David was being held.

"Daaaang Videl! Did Emma Frost throw up all over you or something?" (9) David asked. Mara rolled her eyes.

"Quit calling me that." Mara said. "I've decided not to kill you, yet."

"Oh goodie. I was wondering when we'd get to that."

"Instead, I have arranged for you to watch a historic event take place right in front of your eyes."

"What, you're actually going to be nice to me for a change?" David said, as Guard took him out of the cell. Mara chuckled.

"Always the joker eh Finch?"

"No, not me. I'm the imbecile. Yup. You're thinking of Nick. You remember him right? Tall, movie star looks, short angry wife, constantly horny?"

"Probably because the short angry wife won't put out."

"I should hope not!"

"They've had four children Finch."

"And I love those kids, but he's lucky I didn't chop his head off for corrupting my best friend."

"But he-what the hell am I talking about?!" Mara berated herself. "This is exactly why my next step is absolutely necessary." She took David into a room that had a perfect view of the Earth. "Part of me still clings on to my 'good' side as long as there are people there that I know."

"So what? You're going to kill them?" David asked.

"In a way, yes." Mara said, as she turned to him. "I'm going to blow up the Earth."

"You're gonna what?!"

"You heard, and guess what blondie, you get a front row seat to its destruction." She said ruffling his hair. "Told you it was going to be historic!"

**What can I do? I need to get a warning to them, but I'm captured! Wait…I'm having an idea! Note to self: celebrate later…**

Back on Earth… 

"This show is awesome." Claudia said, totally zombified.

"Totally." The little kids replied, also zombified.

"Is this how we were when we were that age?" Goten asked.

"Totally." The older gang replied. CJ walked in.

"That Ham baka just gave us the 411, but I'm not sure how much of it's true." CJ said. "Most of it's pretty heavy."

"True or not, we're gonna need it." Gohan said.

"Yowza!" Natalie yelled. Everyone looked at her. "Geez David, there's no need to yell!"

"David?! David's talking to you?!" Andrea asked frantically.

"Yeah, he says he's fine for now. No need to worry. Videl's put his eath-day (10) on hold for a while. Woah, Dave are you serious?!"

"What, what is it?!" Everyone asked. Natalie ushered them to get away from the younger kids.

"Videl's gonna blow up the Earth."

"NANI!?"

"Keep it down!" Natalie said. "Dave, is there anyway that you can shut it off? Uh huh…uh huh…damn. Try your best okay? Take care. Okay, she's got Dave shut off in a jail cell so he can't exactly go exploring but he says he'll try and find out as much as he can."

"Screw that, we gotta get up there." Vegeta said.

"We can't go up there, they have the advantage." Trunks said.

"Vegeta's right." Gohan said.

"HUH?!"  
"Damn straight." Vegeta said.

"This is code red now. We won't be going in there unprepared, and we can't just sit here and wait to be blown up." Gohan said. "There's a bigger thing than revenge going on here if they're willing to blow up another civilisation, and I want to know what that thing is. Zophen, is there anyway that you can get us up there?"

"Do you have any kind of space travel vehicles?" Zophen asked.

"You kidding? I got my name on half the spacecrafts up there!" Bulma said. "Leave it to me."

"Then I can get us up there undetected." Zophen said.

"Good, we move out in the morning. Hopefully Dave will be able to stall until then." Gohan said.

"You're asking the speedster to stall?" Nicholas asked.

"Hey, you're paraphrasing The Flash! Nice." Remy commented. (11)

To Be Continued…

As promised, the references explained:

-1 2 and 3 are lyrics from the song Piece of Heaven by Weiss Kreuz, which is also featured in the anime as the series' second opening theme. Translations:

(1) But at least, but at least, if I hold you tight and kiss you now. In my heart, I will know that you'll always love me, me alone.(2) Far away, far away, you await me in your Heaven. And I swear, here and now, to return before it fades away, so my love, 

(4) A light sabre is the weapon used the in the Star Wars films.

(5) Tranquilliser darts.

(6) Freakazoid was a cartoon show made by the WB about 8 years ago. The basic storyline of the show was never really constant but it didn't matter when the jokes and references were better than most prime time TV shows on today. It was cancelled (so wrong!) after two seasons.

(7) This song was featured on the kids TV show Lamb Chop's Play Along, and it's what it's most famous for. Kids everywhere know this song and love to sing it to be annoying. ^_^

(8) This is a direct quote by Ed from the Cartoon Network show Ed Edd n Eddy. Edd or Double D often talks in a way which simpleton Ed cannot comprehend.

(9) Emma Frost is a character from the Marvel Comic X-Men. She currently stars in the New X-Men line up but was once part of the Hellfire club and an enemy of the X-Men. She is most famous for her razor sharp wit and revealing clothing.

(10) Death in pig-latin.

(11) The Flash is a comic book character from DC Comics. The version that Remy was referring to was most likely the incarnation on the TV show Justice League by the WB. (Who's the best character on the show, tied with Bats!)


	9. Anyone wanna hear about the time Gohan w...

Rifts and Changes 

**Chapter Nine: "Anyone wanna hear about the time Gohan went Wolverine berserker because this guy knocked over his ice cream sundae?"**

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the men and women who bought the Lord of the Rings trilogy to the screen and into my life. Okay, so a chapter of a fanfic about DBZ isn't a good enough gesture but guys, have you seen this? If you haven't GO NOW! I COMMAND IT! This film rocks so hard! Be warned, take Kleenex! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gohan sat alone upstairs, staring off into the distance. He did not hear the footsteps coming behind him but being the Super Saiya-jin that he was, his instincts kicked in instead. Whoever it was had ended up on the floor.

"Oww! Gundamit Gohan! That really hurt!"

"Nick, I'm so sorry!" Gohan said, helping his best friend up. "My instincts kicked in."

"O…kay." Nicholas replied. "I just came up here to see if you were okay."

"I don't think I'm anywhere near okay right now Nick. My wife is evil, I'm leading my family and friends into a battle I have no idea about, we have no back up plan…did I mention that my wife is evil?"

"Yeah."

"Who the hell do I think I am Nick?"

"Well I dunno who you think you are, but I can tell you what you actually are."

"What's that?"

"One of the best people I know. We trust you Gohan, and there's a reason for that. We believe in you because you've never let us down…intentionally." Nicholas said, sweat-dropping slightly. "Besides, who else is gonna be leader? You're the sanest one here!"

"I suppose."

"I mean, can you imagine me as leader? Everyone would have to have witty one liners and Nat would definitely have to wear some form of spandex…" There was a brief silence.

"Nick?"

"Huh? Oh sorry, my mind drifted."

"You pervo."

"Et tu Gohan?" Nicholas said, pretending to weep. "And as for a back up plan, let us handle that. You gotta remember that you may be the leader but as the saying goes, there's no I in team. At least in English, because in Japanese there so is man."

"Thanks Nick…I think."

"No problem. Wait, what time is it?"

"5am, why?"

"We suit up in about three hours yeah?"

"Yeah…"

"Gotta get some beauty sleep! Last thing I wanna be is an alien spooker!" Nicholas said, as he sped downstairs.

"That man can be so bizarre."

Meanwhile, downstairs… 

"Trunks! Trunks wake up!"

"Remy? What the hell? It's not time to get up yet is it?"

"No! I can't wake anyone else up!" Remy said, as Trunks got up sleepily.

"Oh, so I was your last choice?"

"You're not exactly a morning person Trunks."

"It's not even morning so how can you tell? WOAH!" Trunks yelled. Remy took him over to where Cory was and Trunks could not believe his eyes. Somehow, there was a see through image of Videl right in front of Cory and he was talking to it. "How the heck is he doing that?"

"I have no idea, but he's been talking to it for the last ten minutes." Remy said.

"Is it real?"

"Don't think so, she's the one that's evil now right?"

"Yeah. I'm so confused." Trunks sighed.

"It's nothing dangerous, poor kid just misses his mother." Nicholas said.

"WAAAH!!" Trunks and Remy yelled in fright. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry. I think that may be Cory's power. To create illusions like that." Nicholas replied.

"See that? My nephew is bad-ass." Goten said.

"AAAAH! DON'T DO THAT!" Nicholas and Remy yelled, as Remy punched Goten on his arm.

"My nephew is bad-ass?" Trunks asked. "I'm gonna forget I heard that for your sake Goten."

"What the hell is all the noise about?" Andrea asked, and then saw Cory. "It's Videl!" Andrea jumped at the image yelling "Where is David?!" and then hit a wall. "Owww…"

"Andie, are you okay?" Nicholas asked.

"Since when is Videl transparent?!" Andrea cried, getting up.

"Since always." Nicholas replied. "Oh wait, you mean literally. That's not her man."

"Baka onna!"

"Wait, Dad no!" Trunks cried.

*BOOF*

"This is going to be a long morning." Goten sighed.

Later on… 

"Everyone's been checked so far?" Gohan said, going over the last minute details.

"Yep, no one has any serious head injuries." Natalie replied. "Although I'm not sure how they all thought that was Videl."

"Even Goten knew it wasn't her." Trunks said.

"Yeah…hey!"

"Can we focus please?" Gohan yelled. They looked at the floor sheepishly. "Right, we don't know what we're going up against up there. We don't know if this will finish it. We don't know if we're coming back. So only a few of us will be going on this mission, and those few will be team alpha." Bra raised her hand. "Yes?"

"Can't we come up with a better name than that? None of us understand Greek." Bra said.

"You're kidding right?" Gohan asked in disbelief. Bra shook her head. "I don't think it's important now."

"Fine, when someone gets confused along the way, don't come running to me."

"I can't believe this is what I'm working with." Gohan sighed, shaking his head. "Okay, team names aside for now. The first team will be the one coming with me to the ship. The second team will be our back up team, should anything go wrong. The third team will be in charge of communication and general damage control and the last team…um well that's just the people that need to be kept out of danger."

"Sorry G, guess you'll be in the last team." Trunks teased.

"Shut up baka." Goten seethed.

"Okay, first team will consist of myself, Zophen, Nick, Andie, Drake, Pan, Krillin and Trunks."

"The hell? How come Drake is going?" Pan asked, rather annoyed.

"Watch your language Pan." Chi-Chi scolded.

"Sheesh, you'd think she hated me or something." Drake commented.

"He doesn't even have any powers!" Pan said.

"Yes, he does Pan. And we can't afford to not put him on the team." Gohan said.

"Then what pray tell kind of powers does he have?" Pan asked, putting her hands on hips and frowning at her father.

"Pray tell?" Cory, Adrian and Daniel asked and promptly started laughing.

"These kind of powers." Drake said, creating a ball of fire with his hands.

"Nani?!" Pan exclaimed, looking at the fireball.

"And that's just a little taster." Drake said. "You just got burned baby." Pan's fists shook violently at her sides as Drake's grin became wider and wider. She stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh choice comeback Pan-chan."

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!!"

"I can if I want to!"

"No you can't! It's forbidden! Last person that called me that ended up with a black eye!"

"What a load of bollocks! (1) Your uncle just called you that this morning!"

"Drake! Watch your mouth!" Natalie said, smacking her son upside the head (which was a difficult task, considering he was half a foot taller than her).

"Gomen ne…" Drake sighed.

"Enough fighting, this isn't the time to be acting like children." Gohan said sternly.

"Hai…" Both teens replied. 

"Second team will be Goten, Marron, #18, Claudia, and CJ if you're up for it, and Bulma if you can get a hold of Tien, Piccolo, Yamcha and any other fighter you can think of. The third team will be Natalie, Bulma, Remy and anyone else that you think will be able to help. Everyone else will stay here with the third team."

"Is that it?" Vegeta said, his left eyebrow twitching violently. Gohan looked at him and blinked.

"Well yes Vegeta…oh hold on, I see what you're getting at. I know being the prince has its rules about pride and junk but Trunks is a skilled martial artist and Bra is not. She'd get hurt if we took her with us." If it were possible, Vegeta' eyebrow began to twitch even more.

"Damn that Son gene sometimes I swear…" Chi-Chi muttered to herself.

"I would not get hurt!" Bra said. Gohan gave her a look. Bra pouted. "Oh fine, maybe I would be a little bit hurt."

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Vegeta roared. "How am I not a part of the first team? Or even the second team?" Gohan sighed.

"I am not going to baby you anymore so here's the basic fact. You are in no shape to fight a little kid let alone an alien army of who knows how many!"

"How da…"

"If you can't stomach that, and you'd rather go out to fight and leave your kids without a father and your wife without a husband, you know where the door is." Gohan said. Vegeta, for one of the few times in his life, was speechless. "I've got more important things to worry about than your bloated ego." Everyone in the room sweat-dropped as Vegeta stormed out.

"When are we going to head out Gohan?" Zophen asked.

"As soon as the ship is ready, how is the ship by the way?" Gohan asked.

"Ready as it's ever gonna be." Bulma replied. Gohan nodded.

"In fifteen minutes, first team to the ship." Gohan said, as he left the room.

"I'm so worried about him, he's a bit too gung ho about this whole thing." Andrea commented to Nicholas quietly.

"He just wants to be the one who brings Videl back." Nicholas said. "He doesn't want anyone else to fight her."

"What if Videl can't be…"

"I don't think he's considered that a possibility."

"It could very well be one though."

"I know Andie, we've just got to keep an eye on him up there."

"Uh oh, incoming message from the big giant head…" (2) Natalie said, as everyone turned to her. "I've always wanted to say that."

"Is it Papa?" Claudia asked. Natalie nodded.

"He says that Videl's gonna do the, um, thing tonight." Natalie said, being careful not to let on the situation to the littler kids. "He doesn't know when but they've been preparing the, um, thingy to do the thing."

"I'm confused." Goten said.

"Sorry," Natalie said, sweat-dropping. "He's been trying…okay, now he's saying he needs to sign off. I'm guessing those guys can tell if he's communicating with me."

"If everyone would follow me in here please." Gohan said, reappearing. Everyone followed him into the spacecraft hangar, to a table where there were an assortment of gadgets and weapons.

"Gadgets!" Nicholas cried.

"Down boy." Natalie commented.

"Bulma has been kind enough to provide us with some weapons to take with us, should we lose our powers for some reason." Gohan said, as he handed out weapons to everyone in the first team. He then took various headsets and handed them to the third team and the first team. "These are communicators so that we can, um, communicate I guess." He replied, sweat-dropping. Gohan felt a tugging at his leg, he looked down and saw Cory. "Hey son."

"Papa, where are you going?" Cory asked.

"I'm going to get your mother."

"She's coming back?"

"Hopefully, son. Hopefully." With this father-son moment, everyone began saying their goodbyes.

"My dad and my husband both drafted to go and save the world. You'd both better come back safe." Marron said, hugging her father and then her husband.

"Don't worry honey, I'll take care of Trunks." Krillin joked, embarrassing Trunks.

"Having half my powers sucks man." Trunks said, in a very dreary voice.

"Mom. We just wanted to tell you…" Adrian began.

"…that what you're doing is so brave and…" Daniel added.

"…you're the best Mom ever!" The twins finished together, giving their mother a quick hug. Andrea sniffed slightly and then smothered her three children in a big bear hug.

"I love you all sooooooo much!" She bawled. "Claudia, be nice to your brothers while I'm gone."

"Yes Mom…" Claudia sighed.

"Both of you please behave yourselves while your in the ship." Natalie said, instructing Drake and Nicholas. "Nick, do not touch the buttons. I don't care how shiny they are! You are a technician, you should know better."

"Hai…"

"Drake, don't argue with Pan! Or Zophen for that matter. The last thing we need is a love triangle okay?"

"Mum, you're embarrassing me!"

"Drake!"

"Hai…"

"Don't bother Gohan with unnecessary questions, eat when everyone else is eating and above all, no showing off. Both of you better come back alive or I'm coming into the afterlife and kicking both your kiesters. Is that clear?"

"Hai sempai!" (3) They said, both saluting. 

"I don't know what to do with you both." Natalie sighed. The other Summers children came and hugged their father and brother.

"You gonna miss us Mum?" Drake asked.

"Baka, do you even have to ask?" She embraced him and kissed his forehead. "Watch your dad okay? He's a bit of a nutter."

"I will."

"Hey, I resent that! I am not a nutter. I'm just misunderstood." Nicholas said. "Don't I get a hug?"

"I am still so mad at you." Natalie said. Nicholas pouted. "But how could I stay mad at this adorable mug forever?"

"Yay! I'm out of the doghouse!"

"Temporarily. Until you get back."

"That doesn't give me much incentive to come back you know."

"No, but this will." She pulled him down to her level and kissed him.

"Ewwww!" Their children all said in disgust.

"Mum! That's so disgusting. I'm standing right here." Drake said, screwing up his face.

"Ay chiwawa…!" Nicholas sighed, with a big goofy grin on his face.

"Gohan, can I talk to you for a minute?" Chi-Chi asked, as she ushered her oldest son away from everyone else. "I realise how hard this is going to be for you. Your father does too. Just please promise me you'll do your best to come back alive."

"I'm going to bring Videl back Kaasan. No matter what it takes."

"That's what worries me Gohan. You cannot think like that. I may not have liked that you and your father were always off saving the world but there was always one thing that stuck in my mind, you both fighting so that others could live. That's what always made me so proud of both of you. That selflessness is one of the things I love about your father."

"Forgive me for asking, but where is this going?"

"Videl may not be able to come back right away. If you can't get her back this time, don't lose everything and everyone in the process. Every defeat just means more experience and wisdom for next time."

"I appreciate what you're saying Kaasan, but I am bringing Videl back. It's my fault for not protecting her. That's why this happened." Gohan said. Chi-Chi looked at him worried. "Please don't worry Kaasan, we'll come back."

"You had better hope so." Chi-Chi said, smiling sadly.

"So, what are you supposed to do if you get an opponent who's too big for you?" Goten asked.

"Run like hell." Pan replied.

"And if you're cornered?"

"Kick him in the crotch."

"And if it's a lady?"

"Pull her pants down and run away." 

"And these methods are to be used?"

"Only as a last resort."

"Good girl." Goten grinned.

"I'm not sure I approve of these fighting methods Goten." Goku said.

"It's only a last resort Tousan. She's small for her age and if her powers are taken away…"

"I still don't like it."

"What do you mean I'm small for my age?!" Pan cried, as she kicked Goten in the shin.

"OW! DARN IT PAN!" Goten cried, being careful to watch his language with his mother so close by. "On second thought, I think you'll be just fine…Pan-chan."

"QUIT IT!"

"Nya ha ha!" (4) Goten snickered.

"Is everyone suited up?" Gohan yelled. A chorus of 'yes's rose from the first team as they got in a line. "Right, let's get in the ship." The first team piled on to the ship, strapped themselves in and waited for blast off.

"Everyone strapped in?" Bulma asked.

"Roger that." Gohan replied. Without warning, she pushed the blast off button and the ship took off.

"NO WARNING BULMA?! THE HELL?!" Krillin could be heard yelling through Bulma's earpiece. Bulma snickered slightly.

"I keep feeling like we're forgetting something…" Vegeta said, as he went into deep thought.

"Hey, whatever happened to that guy we captured?" Goku asked innocently.

"Shish kebabs! He's still in the basement!" Goten said as he ran downstairs.

"What do we do now?" Natalie asked.

"We wait. They're not gonna be anywhere near the ship for hours." Bulma replied.

"Obaachan, I'm bored. Can we watch more cartoons?" Cory asked Chi-Chi.

"Okay, but no violent ones." Chi-Chi replied.

"Don't worry Mrs Son, I'll set it up for them." Remy said, as she scooted the kids into the living room. "Who wants to watch X-Men?" (5)

"No violent ones!" Chi-Chi called after them.

"Okay…how about Spongebob Squarepants?" (6)

"What's that?" Cory asked.

"Ah, son of Gohan, what an education you are about to receive." Remy smiled.

Meanwhile, on board the spaceship… 

"Is he still blowing chunks in there?" Andrea asked. Gohan nodded. "Who knew he was so squeamish?"

"I am not squeamish!" Nicholas protested from the bathroom. "Space travel happens to be something very new to me!"

"You've been on the fastest rollercoaster on Earth while eating a cheeseburger." Andrea said.

"Exactly! On Earth! Not some dark abyss that's void of life. In space, no one can hear you scream." Nicholas said. (7)

"You watch too many horror movies." Gohan commented. "How are we doing for time Trunks?"

"Judging by the co-ordinates that Zophen gave us, we should be there in about two hours." Trunks replied.

"That long huh?"

"I'm afraid so. We can't really propel ourselves any faster without breaking up the material of the ship."

"What the heck are we gonna do for two hours?" Krillin asked. There was a silent pause.

"Anyone wanna hear about the time Gohan went Wolverine berserker because this guy knocked over his ice cream sundae?" Nicholas asked. Suddenly everyone except Gohan, who was hiding his face in embarrassment, surrounded him. "Okay, Gohan was already in a really bad mood…"

Back on Earth… 

"I can't believe we almost forgot about you." Goten said, as he walked into the basement. Hamelis scoffed.

"Your security down here is appalling, I could have escaped a thousand times by now." Hamelis said.

"Yes, but you haven't." Goten smirked as he leaned against a wall, putting his hands behind his head. "That would be because my knots kick ass son."

"Aren't you Son?"

"It's an Earth expression, you wouldn't understand."

"I would not have expected you to understand."

"For the last @!£$%*#& time, I am not STUPID!"

"That's not what I meant. You are not from this planet either."

"Yes I am, on my mother's side."

"Pathetic. Live on one place too long and you automatically call it home. Have you no loyalties to your own home planet?"

"You mean the bits of rubble and rock floating through space? Sorry, can't seem to find an attachment to it."

"I can see that. You have an attachment this planet, their way of life, their women…" Hamelis took a slight pause to smirk at Goten. "Too bad you don't realise how false your investment in these things is." Goten drew in a sharp breath before walking over to Hamelis and punching him in the face.

"You can insult me all you want, but you **NEVER** talk about her like that. Got it?"

"You fool, you have no idea." Hamelis laughed. Goten raised an eyebrow. "Peaked your interest, have I?"

"Anything you say will be a filthy lie." Goten said through his teeth.

"Then what's the harm in listening to what I have to say?" Hamelis asked. "We've been watching you most of your life Goten, you think we don't know what's going on around you?" Goten rolled his eyes.

"Okay, give it your best shot."

"Paresu, your ex-wife. She's the reason your beloved CJ left when you were in high school."

"Bull."

"It's true. The attempted rape by that Dominic fellow, stellar guy by the way, was set up by her."

"Paresu may not have liked CJ, but she would never do anything like that."

"Oh but she would. At least, at that time she would have. All those years you were together changed her into a better person, but even you know what she was like back then." Goten sucked his teeth in anger.

"Even if that's true, CJ would have told me. She would have told someone."

"But she did. She told Trunks, and that other girl who owns this place. For some reason she forgot to tell you though."

"You lie. Even if CJ was lying to protect my feelings, Trunks would tell me."

"Are you so sure?" Hamelis asked. Goten clenched his fists. Hamelis looked up. "There is your lady now, why don't you ask her?" CJ walked down the stairs and observed the situation.

"Woah, tense. What's up Spikes, this guy giving you grief?" CJ asked. Goten took CJ by the shoulders and pulled her close to him. "I don't this is the place for a session of passion Goten."

"CJ, for the love of God, please tell me it's not true."

"What Goten?"

"Please don't lie to me, I can take it!"

"Goten, you're scaring me. What's going on?" CJ said, removing Goten's hands from her shoulders.

"Did Paresu organise the whole Dominic thing?"

"Goten, I really don't feel comfortable talking about…"

"CJ, please." Goten looked straight into her eyes. She looked at him as long as she could before turning her gaze to the floor.

"I'm so sorry Goten…"

"So it's true." Goten said. He turned around and punched Hamelis in anger.

"Talk about shooting the messenger." Hamelis muttered.

"Damn it CJ, why didn't you tell me?" Goten said angrily.

"I couldn't tell you." CJ said quietly.

"Why the hell not?!" Goten yelled.

"Because it wouldn't be fair on you! And don't yell at me!"

"Fair on me?! I married her CJ. I married someone who got so jealous she could've got you killed! What if she had done the same thing to some other girl who may have liked me?"

"Things have changed since then Goten." CJ said firmly.

"What? You saying I can't attract the ladies anymore? Well I got you lady, and there are plenty of girls who like me thank you much."

"Not you, baka. Paresu. She has changed a lot since then."

"But that doesn't change the fact that you lied to me. You kept something from me and asked Remy and Trunks to keep quiet about it. I mean, did you want me to suffer?"

"Of course not! That's why I didn't tell you!" CJ yelled. Goten blinked.

"Come again?"

"I…you know what Goten. Screw you." CJ said. "I don't need to stand here and let you berate me like a child. I did what I thought was best and if you'd rather listen to that scum than to me…well I guess that just shows what you think of me." CJ started to storm up the stairs.

"CJ wait!"

"No, and don't come after me. I don't wanna talk to you." CJ said. "At least until you've calmed down and taken your head out of your butt." She left him standing there.

"ARG! She is so friggin stubborn!" Goten said, kicking the staircase…and then grabbing his foot in pain. "Having half my powers sucks."

Back on the spacecraft… 

"Daddy, I never knew you had such a short temper." Pan said, in awe. Gohan looked down embarrassed.

"Yup, that's my boy." Nicholas grinned proudly.

"You definitely get your temper from Grandma, Daddy." Pan said.

"Oh I second that." Krillin said. "Believe me, I've got the bumps and scars to prove it." Before anyone else could joke at Gohan's expense, the ship's alarms started to go off.

"What the…" Before Gohan could finish, the ship began a very fast decent. "EVERYONE INTO YOUR SEATS QUICK!" The ship halted just as quickly as it had started.

"Woah, that was quite a jolt Freak." Nicholas said, in a feminine voice. (8)

"Zophen, any ideas what that was?" Gohan asked.

"Yep, we just broke through the enemy's force field. We've got ten minutes before we make contact." Zophen replied.

"Okay, team 3 are you there?" Gohan asked through his headset.

"We're here Gohan." Bulma replied. "Good luck you guys."

"Don't I get a good luck Nat?" Nicholas asked coyly.

"You'll get my foot up your @$$ if you don't do as you're told." Natalie replied. Everyone giggled at the married couple.

"The suspense is killing me, what can we do to kill time?" Pan whined. There was a brief silence.

"Anyone wanna hear about how Chi-Chi got Goku to marry her?" Krillin asked. Everyone crowded around him. "Okay, so they were about 18 at the time…"

To Be Continued…

Okay, so it's kind of a cliffhanger but if there weren't it wouldn't be an ongoing series would it? Ah, a paradox. Anyways, I'll try and get the next chapter out ASAP. Bye!

(1) "Bollocks" is the British version of…balls basically. ^_^()

(2) This is a reference to the show Third Rock From The Sun.

(3) In English, this would translate to "Yes ma'am."

(4) This is the laugh that Ed from Cowboy Bebop does oh so comically (in the Japanese version).

(5) Remy is referring to the 90s cartoon series based on the popular comic series. Even though it is not as violent as the comics, it was still a lot more violent than most cartoons today (which is a darn shame).

(6) This is a Nickelodeon cartoon about sea creatures and…you just gotta watch it to know.

(7) This is a reference to the movie Aliens.

(8) This is a reference to an episode of Freakazoid called the "Island of Dr…" I forget the rest of the title. Nicholas is imitating Steph, who in turn is imitating an old movie.


	10. You can just call us the bishonen squad!...

Rifts and Changes 

**Chapter Ten: "You can just call us the bishonen squad! Here to protect beautiful people everywhere from scum like you!"**

A/N: Silver Warrior, I love watching X-Men Evolution. It's one of the best cartoons on TV (along with the new TMNT and Justice League). I think it's just an added bonus to have some of my favourite characters in a cartoon this time with more than just a one or two episode guest appearance (Cannonball, Multiple, Iceman, Colossus and Nightcrawler in particular) and I like that they've improved on some characters in comparison to their comic book counterparts (Toad, Cyclops and Avalanche). Unfortunately, some characters cannot be changed (Jean. I hate her SO much). I like it because it's so different to the comics, you can't actually predict what's going to happen to the characters. Plus, this show made me laugh out loud at some of the jokes instead of snicker slightly like I did with the old series. Toad in particular. There's this one scene where Pyro's flaming that giant spider thingy and it tunnels underground and he looks at it in awe and says 'It's gone down under!'. It was just the way he said it, had me laughing for ages. Too bad it's been cancelled. Damn peoples…

Ahem, back to the story *sweat-drops*. I hope this chapter goes down okay with you guys, because…I don't really want to spoil anything. So enjoy, but be gentle! Eventually, everything will be okay! Just not anytime soon!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Anyone else feel like they're going to throw up?" Pan asked.

"Me, but that's because of the ship not because I feel scared." Nicholas replied. Pan sweat-dropped. "Gohan, what's the plan when we get in there?"

"Zophen, you know the ship pretty well right?" Gohan asked.

"It's been my prison for about six months Earth time, I know it too well." Zophen replied.

"Aww, you poor thing!" Pan gushed.

"Focus Pan-chan, por favor!" Drake snickered. She stuck her tongue out him.

"We need you to take us to the main room, that's probably where Videl is." Gohan said.

"And the cannon that's going to destroy Earth." Krillin added. Nicholas had a look on his face as if he were calculating something. Then he gasped.

"Gohan, please don't tell me we're going to rush them!" Nicholas pouted. Gohan nodded. "Aiya…" Nicholas whined, grabbing his head.

"It's our best shot. They won't be expecting a head on attack." Gohan said sternly.

"I'll bet, I wasn't expecting one either." Nicholas quipped. Gohan gave him a look. "Gomen! Gomen! It's you guys I'm afraid for, there can be tens of me you know."

"Exactly."

"Oh my goodness! I finally understand!!" Nicholas yelled as he dramatically bowed down in front of Gohan. "I am so sorry sensei!" Gohan shook his head.

"There's one thing I don't understand." Trunks said. "We've broken through their force field…how did we do that?"

"The same way we're gonna get into the ship." Zophen replied. Trunks stared at him waiting for an explanation. "What?"

"Could you explain what that is? I think I'm having Goten syndrome." Trunks said. Pan punched him in the arm. "OW!"

"Don't bad mouth my uncle!" Pan said.

"I changed the molecular structure of the ship and everything in it, so that we could pass through their defences and through the hull of the ship. This way, they will not be able to tell us apart from spacedust."

"I get it! You phased us through the ship!" Nicholas chirped. Everyone else nodded in understanding.

"I do not understand 'phased'." Zophen said. A faint 'kawaii!' could be heard from Pan.

"Don't worry, I just put what you said into basic terms." Nicholas said. The ship started shaking violently. "What the heck is that?"

"For me to 'phase' us through the ship will take a lot more energy and effort." Zophen said. The ship stopped shaking. "And done." Everyone face-faulted.

"Okay, we're in the ship." Gohan said. "Zophen, you're going to lead the way. Take us on the route where we are least likely to get caught. Nick, at the first sign of trouble I want you to open a can of, um,"

"Whoop ass boss?" Nicholas asked.

"That's the one." Gohan replied. "Everyone else, I want you fighting on defence. Just knock the guards or whoever out. Try to avoid killing them."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Pan asked. "I won't kill anyone…just maim them, that's all Daddy!"

"Tech support standing by Gohan." Bulma said.

"Guys, before you go in there's something I have to tell you." Natalie said.

"Words of impending doom?" Nicholas asked.

"Not quite." Natalie snapped. "If you look in the compartment under the control board, there are oxygen masks."

"To protect us from space cooties?"

"Yes Nicholas."

"…Seriously?"

"Not seriously you dolt! It's so that the aliens can't blast you with a serum that will sap your powers away. I found out from examining Mr Son that it can only be effective if it's breathed in."

"Oh."

"I'd never thought I'd say this…but can we please go? The suspense will kill me before those aliens do." Krillin said.

_Back on Earth, CC…_

"Goten!" Remy called, running after him. Goten stopped as Remy caught her breath. "Dang, do you know how long I've been running after you? This isn't a small house you know!" Goten remained silent. "What the heck are you doing here anyway? This is a no go zone remember?"

"I know that." Goten replied curtly.

"Rude." Remy said. "What crawled up your butt and died?"

"A big secret that everyone has been keeping from me for years." Goten said.

"Clue me in?"

"Why CJ left."

"…"

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I really don't know what to say…"

"First time for everything."

"Not everyone knew you know."

"Oh, that makes me feel tons better."

"CJ was just doing what she thought would be best. Less painful…"

"For who? Her?"

"You know her better than that Son Goten." Remy said, in a very stern tone. Out of all Goten's friends, Remy was the only one who could get the amount of anger she was feeling across without raising her voice. "She cares for you so much."

"Then why tell Trunks and not me?" Goten asked. Remy blinked. "I should've seen it coming really. She's in love with him, isn't she?"

"Who?"

"CJ."

"No, who's 'him'"?"

"Trunks." Goten said. "That's why she never had feelings for me when we were younger." There was a brief silence until Goten heard a snort. "A-are you…laughing at me?" Remy shook her head furiously but Goten could see the tears streaming down her face. "HOW CAN YOU BE LAUGHING AT ME?!"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

"This is NOT funny!"

"Yes it is! And it's cute in a twisted machismo sort of way!" Remy composed herself and looked at Goten. "She is not, and never was, in love with Trunks. She could barely stand him most of the time."

"How do you know? I mean, she told him her biggest secret! They're so close."

"So what? You and I are really close, I told you a lot of things I've never told anyone else. Does that mean that I'm in love with you?"

"It wouldn't be surprising, I'm very attractive." Goten replied, matter-of-factly. Remy raised an eyebrow. "But I get your point."

"Thank you." Remy said. "You just need to talk to her. After you've calmed down. The last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt you and believe it or not, she was a little embarrassed of telling you."

"Why on Earth would…"

"Yours is the only opinion that affects her." Remy said. Goten sat down in awe.

"Wow."

"Baka." Remy said shaking her head. "All the troubles of love are resurfacing again. Feels like we're teenagers again."

"We?" Goten said, slyly raising an eyebrow.

"Don't even go there!"

"Oh alright, spoil my fun." Goten chuckled. "I've got to go."

"Okay, so what do I tell everyone when they ask where you've gone? Tell them a lie or that you've gone to confront your ex-wife before the world ends?" Remy asked. Goten fell over in shock.

"How the heck do you do that?"

"Mostly guess work." Remy grinned. "So…?"

"Tell them I've gone out for food."

"Where?"

"Pizza."

"Okay." Remy said, as she put her hand on Goten's shoulder. "Please, don't go mental. And try to take it easy okay?"

"Hai, hai."

_Back in space…_

Gohan and his team followed Zophen around the ship. They were carefully ducking sleeping guards and busily chatting staff. However, they could hear this constant clacking sound following them everywhere they went. As they trudged on and on through the ship the noise got louder and louder. As the noise increased Pan became more and more annoyed. Finally, she snapped.

"Who in the hell is making that noise?!" She hissed through her teeth. Everyone froze in fright as Pan covered her mouth in shock and embarrassment. After it was evident that no one had heard her, Gohan looked at her as if to say 'WHAT THE HELL?!'. "I am so sorry!" Pan mouthed. "There was this noise an…" Pan couldn't finish because Gohan had shushed her. They continued walking on.

_**If these aliens don't kill me a heart attack from my daughter certainly will. Brrr…it sure is cold in here!**_ Gohan thought to himself as his teeth started chattering again. Zophen stopped in his tracks and everyone else halted.

"There it is." Those three little words were all it took to put fear into everyone's hearts. Fear of what would be waiting for them behind those doors. Fear of the consequences…fear in everyone's hearts, except Gohan. All that was in his heart was a burning determination to get his wife back. He knew the consequences of being afraid in battle. He knew the consequences of being too cocky in battle. For they had both caused him grief and losses. He was determined not to let this happen again. He was going to get his wife back…or die trying.

"Nick…" Gohan said.

"Already ahead of you Boss." Nicholas, multiplied by six, said.

"I forgot how creepy that is." Andrea commented.

"Okay, Drake I want you to make a fire blast that will break down those doors but not set fire to the rest of the ship."

"I don't think he's ready…" Nicholas Prime started to say.

"Don't worry Dad, I know how to use my powers pretty well." Drake said, as he got ready.

"Everyone else, you know what to do." Gohan said. Drake pointed his hands towards the doors and blasted them down. Inside the room were unknown alien guards, Illoxane, Thelia, Dimethic, Anthius and Mara.

"Where the heck is Medilan?" Trunks whispered to Gohan.

"I don't know nor do I care. I didn't come here for him." Gohan said, never taking his eyes off Videl/Mara.

"Well lover, I've got to hand it to you. You've got guts!" Mara exclaimed. "But you brought the brat, that's just not good sense! What are you doing here?" Mara asked mockingly.

"I'm here to bring you back." Gohan said.

"What? No witty entrance? No cue to begin the fighting?" Mara asked.

"Sorry, that was my job." Nicholas Prime said. "Um, how about I'm here to kick ass and chew gum and I just ran outta gum?"

"Bit overdone but it'll do." Mara said. "Henchmen, attack!"

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Krillin muttered. There was no time for him to criticise her battle cry, as the guards started to attack.

"Sorry, but if you want Mara you're going to have to go through us." Anthius said, standing besides the other Tocopherans.

"Alrighty then." Gohan said, cracking his neck and getting into a fighting stance. The others followed suit.

"Andie, make sure you fight that telepath guy okay? He can't affect you with his powers." Natalie said, speaking into the communicator. The Tocopheran guards were the first to attack. Trunks, Krillin, Pan and Drake took on the seven guards that charged towards them.

"Hey big ugly guy!" Nicholas #3 called out. "We're calling you out!"

"Great, are you some reject music group from Earth?" Anthius asked. All the Nicholas' smirked.

"Nope, you can just call us the bishonen squad! Here to protect beautiful people everywhere from scum like you!" They all said, posing dramatically before yelling "BONZAAAAAIII!!" and tackling the giant Anthius.

"Well Dimethic, how about you take the little diplomat and I take the tart?" Thelia asked. Andrea raised her eyebrows.

"Oh no you didn't!" Andrea said, knocking Thelia to the ground with one punch. "Zophen, she's all yours sweetie. You," Andrea said pointing at Dimethic. "You aren't going to get away with kidnapping my husband."

"Looks like I already did…or am I not understanding the Earth custom of sarcasm again tart?" Dimethic said as he closed his eyes and concentrated. "…Why are my powers not affecting you?"

"Because this tart got game son!" Andrea said.

"Andie! Stop talking like that, it's stupid!" Nicholas #4 yelled out as he tugged on one of Anthius' legs.

"Someone get these annoying insects off of meeeeeee!" Anthius yelled in annoyance and agony.

"Insects?" asked Nicholas Prime, currently holding Anthius in a headlock.

"Where da insects?" Nicholas #2 asked in a dopey voiced.

"Where da insects?" Nicholas #4 joined in.

"Where da insects?" Nicholas #3 said.

"Where da fanorking insects!?" Nicholas #5 yelled

"Where da insects?" Nicholas #6 cried.

"Me no know!" Nicholas #2 replied as they all, sans Nicholas Prime, started to laugh obnoxiously. (1)

"Boys, focus!" Nicholas Prime said. He made a chi ball in his hand and the other Nicholas' followed suit. "FIRE!" They all fired a chi ball at Anthius, dazing him for only a moment.

"This is going to be tougher than you originally thought." Nicholas #3 sighed.

"You're not seriously thinking of taking on your own wife, are you?" Illoxane asked.

"If it means getting her home, then I will do anything." Gohan said. "And I will go through anyone who stands in my way." Illoxane looked nervous and she threw a green vile at Gohan. He smirked. "Sorry, that won't work on me!"

"Damn you!" She yelled as she charged at him. Gohan grabbed her arm and threw her across the spaceship.

"Oooooh, Gohan be pissed man!" A random Nicholas exclaimed.

"Well done, well done." Mara said impressed as she walked up to Gohan. "Stuff like that reminds me why I married you Gohan-kun."

"Aha!! I got another one! Beat that Pan-chan!" Drake yelled as he took out another guard.

"You must be cheating! I am a trained fighter!" Pan said, punching out a guard in frustration.

"Maybe, but I am a born bad-ass." Drake replied.

"What the heck are you looking at?" Pan yelled taking out another three guards.

"You think maybe we should leave them to it and help the Nicholas army?" Trunks asked.

"Do you think we'd be any help to him?" Krillin asked, pointing to Nicholas.

"You want your sticky bun! I got your sticky bun! Here's your sticky bun!" All the Nicholas' yelled as they repeatedly beat Anthius. (2)

"Guess you got a point." Trunks replied.

"Why are you doing this Lord Zophen?" Thelia asked as she held him in a stranglehold. "Why do you fight against your own people?"

"People like Medilan are not my own people! He would have Tocopherat destroyed if it meant his own happiness." Zophen replied as he got out of the stranglehold. They stood facing each other.

"That's not true!"

"Isn't it Thelia?" Zophen asked. "If it isn't, why would he be going after these people who don't even pose a threat to our planet? He's got his own agenda!"

"He is doing this for the King!"

"You are mistaken Thelia. I just hope that mistake doesn't cause you your life." Zophen said, punching her in the gut and knocking her out. "I am so sorry Thelia." Zophen looked over to Andrea and gasped. "Oh my…"

"Ha! Who's the tart now $*%£@?" Andrea yelled, kicking Dimethic repeatedly.

"Miss Andrea, I think that's enough." Zophen said, pulling her back. "He's unconscious!"

"Good!" Andrea sneered.

"Please Videl, I am asking you to come home." Gohan pleaded. "I love you, I can't live without you…and I also can't bare to see you like this."

"Gohan…" Mara said.

"Please…come home. Be Son Videl-chan again." Gohan said.

"Son Videl-chan?" Mara asked, as if she were reliving a memory from long ago. Gohan held his breath for what seemed like an eternity, waiting to see if she would remember.

"Videl, please come home?" Gohan asked. Mara turned to look at him straight in the eye. There was a long pause. She shook her head and smiled slightly.

"How 'bout no?" Mara yelled, sucker-punching Gohan. "You crazy Saiyan bastard!" (3) Gohan got up and looked at Mara in shock. "I told you, my name is not Videl anymore."

"No…" Gohan barely uttered. Mara pulled a high-tech looking gun and pointed it at Gohan.

"I am not Videl anymore." Mara said.

"NOOOOOOO!!" Pan yelled as she fired a Masenko blast at Videl. "I won't let you do it! If you kill Daddy, you'll be killing whatever is left of yourself!" Mara got up and growled in anger.

"That's what I was trying to do you little brat!!" Mara yelled. Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, a bright blue light flashed and a loud bang followed. Gohan realised that Mara had fired the gun, but he was fine. He followed to where she was aiming and saw Pan on the floor. Her would was bloody and her body was smoking from the blast. Gohan couldn't believe what was going on in front of him and in that moment, all time seemed to stop. Gohan felt numb, he felt like he was frozen in that moment and he couldn't escape it.

"Pan!!" Andrea screamed as she ran over to the injured girl. Andrea could barely stand to look at her. "Oh lord...oh god...are you okay?"

"It hurts Auntie, it hurts so much. Is my brother okay?" Pan asked. Andrea looked confused. _**Poor Pan, she's not making sense. The pain must be so unbearable**_

"He's fine sweetie. He's with your grandfather..." Andrea said, as she left Nicholas to tend to Pan. She turned to Mara. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?! TO YOUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD?!"

"She got in my way." Mara replied coldly.

"Nat, Pan's been injured really badly. It looks like a laser went right through her." Nicholas Prime said into his communicator.

"How deep is the wound?" Natalie asked.

"Not too deep, but she's losing a lot of blood."

"Keep pressure on the wound. Don't move her if you can avoid it."

"I don't think that's an option hon. People, we need to move it. Now!" Nicholas Prime said.

"There's something wrong with Gohan! He's awake but he's not moving or responding to anything I'm saying to him!" Trunks yelled.

"Crap, he's gone into shock. Trunks, you guys need to retreat. Get the hell out of there as fast as you can." Natalie said.

"She's right, let's move." Krillin said, helping Nicholas carry Pan out of the room. "Trunks, get Gohan. We're leaving."

"Drake, you up for a little defensive cover work." Andrea asked.

"Let's turn up the heat." Drake said, creating two fireballs.

"It doesn't matter how far you run!! Pretty soon you'll have nowhere to go!! HAHAHAHAHAAAA!" Mara cackled as she pressed the button to the cannon.

"Oh bullocks." Drake said.

_Back on Earth…_

"Damn!" Bulma yelled.

"What's going on up there?" Vegeta demanded.

"They're retreating. Pan's been badly injured and Gohan's gone into a catatonic state from shock." Natalie asked.

"Who did it?" Chi-Chi asked.

"It was Videl." Natalie replied, with a lump in her throat.

"I knew it, I knew that woman couldn't be trusted." Vegeta said.

"Now is not the time Vegeta." Bulma cautioned.

"It bloody well is. You should have listened to me. I know evil. I was working for it for half of my life remember?" Vegeta said. "Once you fall into evil, it's harder and harder to climb out again. And now Gohan has learned that the hard way."

"Wait, we've got one shot." Natalie said. "Where's Cory?"

_Back on the ship…_

"Ooh, Nicholas #4. I've got a message from the Missus." Nicholas #2 said.

"What does the little minx want #2?" Nicholas #4 asked.

"A little random destruction." #2 replied. #4 nodded and they headed over to the cannon and started to tinker with it.

"What are you doing?!" Mara demanded as she tried to blast them. They avoided the blasts.

"Nothing now, we're done." #4 said as he and #2 retreated. Mara looked at the cannon, confused because it looked like it was functioning properly.

"Those idiots." Mara said as she sat down. "This is going to be quite a show."

"How far are we from the ship Zophen?" Krillin asked as they ran down the halls. 

"Take that suckers!" Drake said, as he set a guard's bottom on fire.

"We're almost there. This is the shortest route." Zophen said.

"What in the name of a rocking Chilli Peppers concert is going on here?!" A voice yelled.

"That's David!" Andrea cried. "We've got to go and get him!"

"Of course." Zophen said, as he took them into the prison hallway.

"David!" Andrea exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Was there ever any doubt babe?" David asked. He looked over to the others. "What the hell happened?"

"We'll explain later!" Andrea said, trying to open the door with her telekinesis. "It's not working!"

"Here, I think this calls for some brute strength." Krillin said, as he lifted the cell door off its hinges.

"Show off." Andrea muttered.

"We need to go now." Nicholas said. They got to the ship, taking out a few dozen guards on the way. "Trunks, you'd better take the controls."

"I will help him." Zophen said.

"Nick, how's Pan doing?" Natalie asked.

"She's still conscious. I think the bleeding has stopped."

"How about Gohan?" Bulma asked.

"He's still out of it. Poor guy." Nicholas said. "Okay boys, back to me." The multiple Nicholas' all disappeared.

"Stranger and stranger…" Drake muttered.

"OW!" Andrea exclaimed. "Did anyone else feel that power surge?"

"What are…" Before David could ask, the ship started to shake violently.

"Look! The Earth! It's…it's gone!" Krillin exclaimed. They looked to where the Earth once stood and saw a pile of rubble.

"Oh my God…Oh my God!" Andrea exclaimed. "We failed! We couldn't stop her."

"What are we going to do now?" Drake asked.

"First of all, you can all stop crying and calm down." A very pissed off voice said.

"Um, who said that?" Krillin asked fearfully.

To Be Continued…

Please don't hate me!! It gets better! And the cliffhangers will lessen…I promise!!

(1) This is a spoof of a scene from Disney's Recess. The whole school is in a craze over some new movie and this is what happens when Lawson and his friends are playing. Except they say "Where da ball?"

(2) Another spoof, from an Animaniacs episode where the goodfellas are in another fight with each other and Pesto says that line to Squit while beating him up. ^_^

(3) A spoof on a scene in Goldmember, a conversation between Dr Evil and Goldmember which goes:

Goldmember: Can I paint his tallywhacker gooooold? It's kinda my thing.

Dr Evil: *wheels very slowly to Goldmember in his chair and stops a few centimetres in front of him* How 'bout NO? You crazy Dutch bastard!


	11. Prophecies, Old Languages, Models and Ga...

Rifts and Changes 

**Chapter Eleven: Prophecies, Old Languages, Models and Gandalf. Or The Filler Chapter!**

Disclaimer: I haven't done these in a while, so. I do not own Dragonball Z or any of it's characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their personalities are from people I know

A/N: I know, I know, it's been a long time. I shouldn't have left you(s). I'm sorry! Finals are a bitch…and stuff. The O.C. has been a real big distraction…hehe. Enjoy!

"Gohan, this place is beautiful!" Videl said happily. She and Gohan were in a small lake in the woods. "How did you find it?"

"Piccolo showed me…inadvertently." Gohan replied.

"I'm not even going to ask." Videl replied. Gohan could not stop looking at her, but he could feel that his face was getting warm.

"I just hope this place stays like this…you know, when we-err…I mean, when I'm still old." Gohan stuttered.

"Mmm hmm." Videl replied coyly.

"I'm glad you like it Videl-san."

"Don't you mean Son Videl-chan?"

"NANI?!" Gohan yelled falling into the lake in surprise. Videl started to laugh merrily. Gohan barely kept his head above the water, trying to hide in embarrassment.

"Goten tells me that's what you call me when you think no one is listening." Videl laughed. "Like when you're daydreaming or sleeping…" Videl started to laugh even more so. Gohan blushed furiously. Out of nowhere, Videl felt herself being pulled down. She realised that she had been pulled into the lake by Gohan, who was now on the bank sitting down hiding behind his knees. "What was THAT for?"

"I had to get you to stop laughing…it was the first thing that popped into my head!" Gohan said ashamedly. Videl started to laugh again as he helped out of the lake. Much to Gohan's surprise, Videl embraced him. He could feel his face turning bright red.

"I'd love to be Son Videl-chan someday." Videl said. Gohan, going completely against every single thought in his head, bent down and gave Videl a kiss.

"Good." Gohan said. "I can't wait 'til someday."

"Someday…" Gohan mumbled slightly.

"Did Gohan just say something?" David asked.

"No, I think he's still unconscious." Nicholas said.

"I think I'm losing my mind." Krillin said. "Am I the only one that heard that raspy voice?"

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL MY VOICE RASPY?! IT'S THIS DAMN COMMUNICATOR THE ONNA COOKED UP!" The voice yelled again.

"F-father?" Trunks asked fearfully. "But…how are you still alive?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Vegeta's voice echoed through everyone's communicators.

"Because the Earth's caput!" Trunks replied.

"Define caput."

"Destroyed Father."

"It is?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Then, how am I still alive?"

"That's what I want to bloody well know!"

"I love these father-son bonding moments." Andrea said wistfully. "I think I know what's going on here. Nat, you there?"

"Yep, don't worry guys. The Earth isn't gone, but the enemy sure as hell think it is." Natalie said. "Cory and me worked a little mojo, thanks to the information that Mirai Nick gave us."

"Define mojo." Krillin said.

"Well, Cory created an illusion that the Earth was blowing up, and I combined his power with mine so that it looked real enough to be believable."

"Okay, I'll set the fastest course home." Trunks said, getting to the controls.

"Why didn't you warn us in advance?" Nicholas asked.

"You were the one that helped with the plan. You fixed the machine so it wouldn't work." Natalie replied. "Ergo, I warned you."

"First of all, don't use ergo. Bad Matrix memories. Second of all, you did not!"

"I did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Look, just because you can't friggin remember!"

"I can so remember! You told me nothing of the sort!"

"Did so! You called me a minx for thinking of it and everything."

"Even though that sounds like something I would say, that doesn't mean I actually said it…wait, I think maybe you told it to one or more of my doubles."

"See, I told you I did."

"But you never told **me **did you?!"

"No, just your more capable counterparts."

"NANI?!"

"Enough!" Trunks yelled.

"Gomen…" They both uttered.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Krillin asked.

"Faster is my middle occupation dude." David said, as he rushed off. Suddenly the ship kicked into overdrive and within a matter of minutes, the ship was hovering above CC.

"H-h-h-h-how did he do that?" Trunks asked. David zoomed back in.

"I just made the turbines go faster, it's a good thing your mother still uses those old machine parts for her ships." David replied. Natalie and Bulma met them at the ship.

"Quick, let's get them both to the infirmary." Bulma said.

A while later… 

"How are they?" Chi-Chi asked as Natalie came out of the infirmary.

"Pan will be fine, thanks to that senzu bean thingy Mr Son had. She's recovering just fine." Natalie replied. Everyone present sighed in relief.

"What about Gohan?" Goku asked. Natalie's expression became even more pained.

"I don't know…" Natalie started. "Because of the shock of what happened, he's out. Kind of like a computer on stand-by. He should be fine as long as he wakes up, but the longer it takes him to wake up…the harder it'll be."

"Can't you…"

"Use telepathy? It's very risky." Natalie said. "I may cause more harm than good if I do that. In this case, its best for us to just keep talking to him. Maybe he'll respond…"

"That's a lot of maybes, I thought you were supposed to be a doctor." Vegeta said.

"I am, that doesn't mean I can perform miracles unfortunately." Natalie replied.

"That's what the Dragonballs are for." Goku replied. "But we can't use them now, we may need them later."

Elsewhere… 

"Hey Remy." Trunks said, as he and Marron joined their friend.

"Hi." Remy replied, then smiled slightly at Marron. "Guess you're not gonna let him out of your sight now are you?"

"Between the death grip she has on my arm and the fact that she's only left my side when I go to the toilet, how did you ever guess?" Trunks said, sweat-dropping. Marron gave him a look.

"I told Gohan that Trunks shouldn't have gone." Marron said.

"Gohan was being driven by love not common sense." Remy replied. "Poor guy."

"Speaking of lack of common sense, where's Goten got to? And CJ for that matter." Marron said.

"If they're both gone at the same time, I don't wanna think about what they're up to." Trunks said. Marron and Trunks noticed that Remy was uncomfortably silent. "Remy…"

"CJ went home!" Remy yelled like a soldier at boot camp.

"And Goten…?" Marron said folding her arms.

"He said he went to eat pizza!"

"Eat pizza…holy Thundercats, he's gone to confront someone!" Trunks said. (1)

"How do you know that?" Remy asked, amazed.

"Holy Thundercats?" Marron asked, amused.

"Because I know Goten, pizza means a confrontation. He never goes out for pizza because it can be delivered to him." Trunks said. "And Thundercats because I couldn't think of a 'Holy Something, Batman' line quick enough." (2)

"Oh." Both women replied.

"Okay, now who has he gone to go confront?" Trunks asked, closing in on Remy.

"I am not allowed to tell! And there is no way you're getting it out of me!" Remy said, speeding away. She ran around CC for ages until she reached another room. When she went in there she found Trunks waiting for her.

"Hello Remy." Trunks said.

"But…how…I was…you were…how in the blue hell did you get here before I did?" Remy asked.

"I live here, I know all the shortcuts. Now, are you going to tell me or do I have to get mean?" Trunks said.

"You can't threaten me!" Remy said. "First of all, I have the advantages cos you don't have your powers. Second, you're still afraid of touching any female except your wife. Thirdly, I can scream like a banshee. Or Banshee himself actually." Remy chuckled at her joke. (3)

"Huh?"

"Never mind, you wouldn't get it."

"Well I would if you'd tell me…stop trying to change the subject!"

"**I AM NOT TELLING YOU WHERE GOTEN WENT!!**" Remy yelled, flooring Trunks. She smiled triumphantly. "If you want to know where he is you're going to have to find out for yourself."

"Kami-sama, you didn't have to yell you know!" Trunks replied, rubbing his ears. Remy face-faulted.

In the wilderness of Japan… 

"I know Tien is into this serenity stuff but he could at least carry a phone! I've been walking for ages!" Yamcha said to no one in particular. Indeed, he had been trudging through the same forest for half the day. "Y-yatta!!" He exclaimed in joy, as he finally saw a house in the middle of the woods. He carefully studied the outside and from the training equipment (broken rocks and kendo sticks) and the arsenal (Launch's guns and stuff) he guessed that it was indeed Tien's house. Without thinking, he burst into the house yelling. "TIEN!!"

"Yeah?!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Yamcha screamed running out of the house again. "Mind unclean…must sanitize!"

A little later… 

"I really think you're overreacting Yamcha." Tien said, as the two old friends sat down to tea.

"I am NOT!" Yamcha said defensively. "You shouldn't walk around in your skivvies you know!"

"Why not? It's my house." Tien replied, taking a sip of his tea.

"But…"

"My house that happens to be in the middle of nowhere."

"But…"

"I also had no idea that you were coming. You really should've called first."

"WHAT?!" Yamcha yelled. "How could I? You don't even have a phone!!"

"Yes I do." Tien said. Yamcha's jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"How can you even get a line out here?"

"It's a cellular phone. Launch really wanted one." Tien said. "The reception is often bad but it still works…"

"I don't know whether to be amazed or to take this as a sign of the apocalypse." Yamcha sighed.

"Why are you here anyway?"

"There's a threat to Earth. Aliens." Yamcha said.

"Again?"

"Yeah."

"I'm flattered that you'd ask for my help Yamcha, really. But what help could I be with Goku around? Not to mention the rest of the Super Saiyans." Tien said.

"Goku and Vegeta have both been rendered powerless."

"NANI?!" Tien stood up in shock, knocking over the cup of tea.

"Tien, it seems that these aliens did some research. They knew who were the most powerful, so they made some sort of chemical that shuts off any kind of Saiyan power. Trunks and Goten got hit too, and now they're about as powerful as we were years ago."

"Well when you put it like that…" Tien said.

"I know." Yamcha said. "I've also managed to find Piccolo. He's on his way to Capsule Corp right now."

"What about Goku's student? Uubu I think his name was."

"Oh God…we forgot."

"It's a good thing you found me then ne?" Tien smirked. Yamcha chuckled.

In the infirmary, CC… 

"Hey Claudia, I was wondering where you were." Drake said, as he walked into Pan's room. "How's she doing?"

"She's fine. She woke up a while ago and then went back to sleep." Claudia said. "It's so scary, I thought she was gonna die."

"Pan's stronger than that."

"You weren't really looking for me were you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"You can't sneak in a kiss while she's sleeping you know. It's dishonest."

"NANI?!?!"

"Don't be coy." Claudia smirked.

"I told you I don't feel that way about Pan dammit!" Drake yelled. He sighed. "It's just I saw it happen, it was pretty scary. I wanted to see for myself that she was okay."

"I know. I just like to tease you. Say Drake."

"Yeah?"

"You do like girls right?"

"Not really."

"NANI?!"

"I like women. Girls are too immature for my tastes."

"You're growing up to be an exact replica of my father as a teenager. How did that happen?"

"I think he had influence on me while I was developing." Drake smirked. "Plus my mum was a bit of a trouser chaser too."

"Your dad better not hear that."

"Oh he knows, and he's made sure that any guy my mother knows, knows that he's not afraid of prison."

"Yowza."

"Yeah, I think Maria's gonna stay single for the rest of her life."

"What about you?"

"I haven't met the right girl yet." Drake said.

"The right girl for you doesn't exist on our planet Summers." Pan muttered, as she turned over in her sleep.

"Even in her sleep, she can't hide her contempt for me. What am I to do?" Drake sighed.

Downtown… 

"Oh man…oh man…" Val said, as she ran through her office building. She was a small, brunette in her early twenties. When she applied for the secretarial job at a modelling corporation she never imagined something like this might happen…well, maybe she did. But only when her weekday replacement Debbie was there. She finally got to her destination and burst in the doors. "MR MITSUBISHI!"

"What on Earth are you doing Mal? We're in the middle of a photo shoot!!" Mr Mitsubishi said. Val sighed. He never got her name right.

"There's this guy downstairs demanding that he see Miss Thing over there." Val said.

"Well tell him to f-…Miss Thing. Hmm, I like the sound of that. What do you think darling?" Mr Mitsubishi asked.

"It's a great idea!" said 'Miss Thing'. Before Val could explain how urgent the situation was, the situation itself burst through the door.

"I want to see Paresu." Goten said, not looking pleased at all. 'Miss Thing' or Paresu squealed at the sight of her ex-husband and went over to hug him.

"Goten-kun! Oh it's been such a long time! How have you been? Is everything alright? You look really angry." Paresu said, not letting get a word in edgeways.

"We need to talk." Goten said.

"C'mon, stop being such a silly!" Paresu said. Goten narrowed his eyes at her. "Wow, you're serious."

"Very." Goten just about growled. Paresu laughed nervously.

"I need to take 10 Mr M." Paresu said.

"But…"

"NOW!" Paresu yelled. Everyone promptly cleared the room. "You know Goten, I like this serious look on you. Very nice."

"Cut the crap Paresu." Goten said. "I'm gonna give you one last chance to tell me about the CJ and Dominic Walker thing."

"God, this again?!" Paresu asked annoyed. "That was over a decade ago!"

"One more time Paresu."

"I told you I didn't have anything to do with it." Paresu said.

"Liar."

"What?!"

"I know what happened. Finally, after all these years." Goten replied angrily. Paresu's face whitened with fear.

"So that bitch finally had the guts to tell you then?"

"NEVER call her that! You hear me?" Goten practically roared.

"I knew it. I knew you always had feelings for her." Paresu said.

"Why?" Goten asked. Paresu sighed. "Why would you do something like this to her? You know how much I loved you."

"You're right. I did. But what you felt for me paled in comparison for the love you felt for her." Paresu said. "It made me angry that an anti-social, sour-faced, flat-chested, angry little freak of a girl could be more important to you than me."

"She was my first love! She would always have a place in my heart but that doesn't give you the excuse to do that! There is no excuse on the planet that gives you the right to do that dammit!" Goten exclaimed. "And in her defence, you have had a little work done. Anyone would look flat-chested next to you." Paresu blushed.

"I had no choice Goten…"

"NO! You did have a choice. You could have talked to me, talked to someone about this problem, this need you have to be the centre of attention all the f$£$& time!" Goten yelled. Paresu started to sniff. "Oh ho no, you are not gonna pull out the crying card on me woman! I am way too angry for that."

"sniff Really?"

"Really, really." She stopped. Goten was getting more and more angry as he spoke with her. "I'm beginning to forget what I ever saw in you."

"A hot girl with great legs that actually returned your feelings maybe?" Paresu asked. Goten paused. "She never returned your feelings Goten, she was not good enough for you. I was the only one perfect for you."

"You're the one who divorced me remember?" Goten said. She looked down at the floor. "What was it you said? An owner of a restaurant was just not in your perfect image or something stupid like that."

"I did love you, you know."

"I thought I loved you too…now I'm not so sure."

"Goten, I…"

"You wanted her raped Paresu. Just because I had feelings for her way before I met you! I had dated tons of girls in between getting over her and dating you."

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"You did know that!! You just chose to ignore it." Goten sighed angrily. "She could've really been hurt that day. Trunks could have killed someone! And the worse part of it is, you knew all this and you still went ahead with it."

"Not true, I didn't know anyone would come and save her." Paresu said. Goten threw his hands up in the air and started to walk away. "Don't you walk away from me Son Goten!"

"I already walked away from you long before today Paresu." Goten said.

"What are you gonna do? Have me arrested or something?" She asked mockingly.

"I dunno. It's not my choice to make." He left her there stunned.

Back at CC… 

"Auntie…" Cory said, tugging at Natalie's trouser (or pants, whatever :P) leg. "Can I speak to Papa?"

"Of course you can sweetie." Natalie said. "Sit on that chair and don't touch any of those tubes okay?" Cory nodded and Natalie left the room. She walked downstairs where everyone is in the living room.

"Any change?" Goku asked. She shook her head.

"Cory's in there talking to him now."

"I wish we didn't have to just sit here and do nothing." Trunks sighed.

"We shouldn't be anyway." Vegeta said. "We're all just sitting here waiting to be attacked."

"Tousan…" Trunks said warningly.

"He has a point." David said. Everyone turned to look at him. "Even if the enemy thinks we're dead, that doesn't mean it's over. How long before they figure out what we've done and come back? We need a back-up plan."

"What we need to do is knock some heads together and get some information." A voice said, walking in the door.

"Piccolo!" Goku exclaimed.

"Yamcha got in touch with me and told me all of what was going on." Piccolo said, surveying the room. "Although he did leave out the part with Gohan's friends being here."

"It's a long story Piccolo-san." Trunks sighed.

"Where is Gohan?" Piccolo asked. Everyone became very solemn. "And where's his wife for that matter?"

"Um, sir? I think you'd better come with me." Natalie said, as she walked towards the infirmary and Piccolo followed.

In the infirmary… 

"Papa, I'm not sure if you can hear me right now. I hope that you can." Cory said. He held his father's hand in his. "Pan is doing very well. After a good night's sleep, she should be back to normal. At least that's what Auntie Nat says." Cory bit his lip. "Please Papa, you've got to wake up. I know Pan can be nice, and Grandpa and Grandma are great but I need you. I already lost Mama to those scary alien guys. I don't want to lose you because you're in shock. Mama will come back. Because I know you Papa, you've never given up before. Never! You're the bravest, strongest guy in the world. Not because of your powers, but because you're my Papa. That's just who you are."

"Nnngg…" Gohan stirred. Cory sat up in shock as Gohan held his hand tighter and then went back.

"Papa…" Cory said, tears streaming down his face.

"Cory, is everything okay?" Natalie asked, as she and Piccolo walked into the room.

"He heard me!! He heard me!! He squeezed my hand!" Cory exclaimed.

"That's amazing!!" Natalie exclaimed. "A miracle worker, just like your Pops kid." Cory smiled. "If we keep talking to him, he may just recover from this."

"Physically anyway." Piccolo said. Natalie nodded sadly. They both knew that even if Gohan survived, his willpower would be severely damaged. His wife was gone and his daughter nearly died. They both knew that he would take full blame for this even though none of it was his fault.

Back in the living room… 

"We can't just leave Videl up there!" Andrea exclaimed.

"I don't think we've been given much of a choice." Trunks replied.

"Is that machine supposed to be blinking red?" Bra asked. Everyone turned to look at the communication station. Bulma quickly got up to open the communication channel.

"WAIT!" Goku yelled as Bulma stopped. "It could be Medilan."

"So what?" Vegeta asked.

"They think we're dead remember?" Goku said. Vegeta opened his mouth to say something but then stopped, realising Goku was right.

"Not having my powers…" Vegeta started to say.

"Sucks Tousan?" Trunks finished.

"Exactly."

"We have to do something. If they can get through to this machine, they know we didn't die anyway." Bulma said. "They think they blew up the whole planet."

"Um, I think the machine is starting to activate itself." Nicholas said, and everyone looked to see that he was right. There was an elderly man on the screen, talking in a language that no one understood. "Listen, mate, we can't understand you!!" The man kept on talking. "Hey old man!!"

"Cosmos, I know who that is!" Zophen said. Everyone turned to look at him.

"It seems to me that you know just about everyone dammit." Vegeta said angrily. "But you still seem to know nothing about what is happening."

"So what do we call this guy?" David asked. "And can you translate what he is saying?"

"On our planet he is known as The Elder." Zophen said.

"My, how original." Vegeta cracked.

"But I cannot translate what he is saying. He is speaking in an ancient tongue and I have not yet been trained to speak that language."

"Yo, Gandalf the White! (4) Can you speak in a language we understand?" Nicholas asked. The Elder stopped talking and looked at Nicholas confused and with a certain degree of awe. "Hey! … Hey! … YO, OLD MAN!! COMPRENDE WHAT I SPEAKO!" The Elder looked even more stunned.

"Nice. You may have just caused an intergalactic incident." Andrea said.

"It certainly wouldn't be the first someone has done that." #18 said, looking directly at Goku and Vegeta. The former laughed nervously while the latter just scowled and sweat-dropped slightly. The Elder started to speak again.

"Shalgya! Dominato shelaot meckalude!" The Elder said.

"Okay, I think I understood what he said there." Zophen said, his brow creased in thought.

"Really? Cos I could've sworn he just called me a domineuce of megadeuce." Nicholas said. (5)

"No, no, no. He called you a dominated megadude!" David smirked.

"And what exactly are you implying by that?" Nicholas raised an eyebrow.

"He called you The Chosen One." Zophen exclaimed. Everyone looked at Zophen with disbelieving faces.

"Okay, either you translated wrongly or Gandalf is whacked out. There's no way I'm Neo, despite having been mistaken for Keanu Reeves many a time." Nicholas said. (6)

"Why do I find that hard to believe?" David asked.

"My translation may be off, but The Elder certainly thinks of you with great importance." Zophen said.

"As Gandalf should. But that still doesn't help us in getting anywhere." Nicholas said.

"His name is not Gandalf." Zophen said.

"He's saying that Uncle Nick is part of the ancient prophecy." Adrian said.

"Duh!" Daniel added.

"Guys, you can understand what Gandalf is saying?" David asked. The twins nodded.

"His name is not…"

"Hey guys, Gohan responded to Cory! I think he's getting better!" Natalie said, walking in.

"That's great!" Goku said, as there was a bubble of rejoicing, which was interrupted by a loud crackling noise coming from the transmission machine. "Hey, I think that Granddad is breaking up."

"That's Gandalf Goku-san." Nicholas corrected.

"His name is not…"

"Hey, I know that guy!" Natalie exclaimed.

"He's the guy that was inside Auntie Nat's brain the other day." Daniel said.

"Duh!" added Adrian.

"Why didn't you brats mention this before?!" Vegeta roared. He promptly went flying across the room.

"I guess Vegeta should know better than to piss off a telekinetic." Krillin sniggered.

"We've got to stop Gandalf from losing the connection!" Bulma said.

"His name is not…"

"Kaasan, try to get the coordinates that Gandalf's calling from." Trunks said, as Bulma scribbled it down.

"His name is not…" Before they could ask any more questions, The Elder's transmission cut off.

"Got it!" Bulma exclaimed.

"Dude, Gandalf's gone." David said.

"Do you think he'll come back as Gandalf the Silver?" Nicholas asked.

"Nah, I'm guessing Gandalf the Platinum. It's more shiny." David replied.

"HIS NAME IS NOT GANDALF!!" Zophen yelled.

"Geez Z, relax." David said.

"Yeah, we're sorry." Nicholas said. Zophen looked at the floor in embarrassment. There was a brief silence.

"Oh yeah, Pan's in the infirmary. I was half expecting a squeal." Goku said, as everyone else sort of nodded in agreement.

"Okay Zophen, what's the deal on this prophecy?"

To Be Continued…

Woo. Es Finito. Yes there is a cliffhanger. Sorry readers but this chapter is damn long and I'm only getting 5 reviews a pop. Makes me feel very sinister.

(1) Y'all remember Thundercats right? With Lion-o and them guys? No, just me? weeps I'm old!!!

(2) In the old 60s Batman show, Robin always used to have a Holy Something Batman line that was a pun of some sort. It's been a classic line since then.

(3) Banshee aka Sean Cassidy is a character in the X-Men. He has the mutant ability of sonic scream.

(4) If you don't know who the heck Gandalf is a pox on thee vile knave!!! … Okay, I'm sorry. He's a character from Lord of the Rings. You want more info, go read the books or watch the film!

(5) In the anime Big O, the mechas are called "megadeuce" and the pilots are called "domineuce". As you can tell, I have no idea how to actually spell those two words and I'm too bloody tired to look them up.

(6) Neo or The One is the main character of the Martix trilogy and is played by Keanu Reeves.

Bye bye!!


	12. Severed Bonds

**Rifts and Changes**

**Chapter Twelve: Severed Bonds**

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of it's characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their templates are people I know

A/N: Okay, you guys should be pleased. I was sitting in my programming exam thinking up the plot for this chapter! (I suck at programming) On the other hand, it's taken me two months to get this chapter out. Most of that blame goes to my computer, which decided to break down on me just as I got oodles of free time. So from me and my computer, SORRY!

**KNOCK!! KNOCK!! BANG!! BANG!! THUMP!!**

"I SAID I WAS COMING YOU $%&$£!!" CJ huffed as she ran to the door. "Always when you're in the bloody shower!" She flung open the door in anger and saw that it was Goten standing at the door. She immediately blushed bright red. She was only wearing a towel and she was dripping wet. Goten, so immersed in what he was saying didn't notice.

"Look CJ, I know you're mad at me and I guess you have every right to but you've got to understand what a big deal this is to me. I mean, if I had known before I could've avoided a lot of pain and may be we could've been together. I mean, I know I'm talking a lot of crap but you mean so much to me CJ. You know how I feel about you, I don't have to say it. I went and talked to Paresu, I finally got the truth out of her and as much as it hurt to hear at least now I know. CJ, aren't you gonna say…s-s-ssaaay…?" Goten's speech trailed off as he finally realised that CJ was in front of him. "Oh my…"

"Gomen!" CJ said, slamming the door shut. "I'll be out in ten minutes!"

"Oh my…" Goten said, his face going bright red. "This is what I get for not calling ahead first…I should not call ahead more often!" He said, snickering evilly.

"I heard that Son!"

"Whoops." Goten waited patiently until the door opened again. CJ was wearing some very baggy pants, a very baggy shirt and a hat over her wet hair. Goten laughed inwardly. She really was embarrassed about him seeing her like that. "Why did you answer the door in a towel anyway?" Goten asked with a smirk on his face. The smirk turned into a smile when he saw her blush.

"Shut up! You were knocking on the door like you were dying!" CJ scolded.

"Well I was dying to see you so I'm not sure if we're talking in the same sense."

"You make no sense period."

"Hey, you've got nothing to be embarrassed about. Absolutely nothing…"

"Shut up or I'll hit you!" CJ said.

"Not if I kiss you first."

"What?! How does that even make…" Before she could finished her sentence, Goten had pulled her in close and was kissing her deeply. She couldn't help but put her arms around him and lose herself in him. They stopped. "You know, you can't expect that to work every time you've done something wrong Spikes."

"I like that nickname." Goten smiled. CJ raised an eyebrow.

"Are you set to weirdo mode today or something?" Goten just kept on smiling. "You're freaking me out! Stop it!" She said, whacking him upside the head.

"OW!!" Goten yelled.

"That actually hurt?" CJ asked surprised. "You usually have a head as hard as nails…or some other ridiculous cliché that escapes me right now."

"A lot of things have happened you know."

"Yeah, I know. You saw her huh?"

"Yeah."

"Did you make her cry?"

"Probably. I yelled at her a lot."

"Good."

"You're an evil person." Goten chuckled. CJ smirked.

"Maybe, but that's one of the things you like about me."

In the midst of space, on the edge of the Milky Way… 

"Madame Mara, is there something the matter?" Dimethic asked. Mara was looking off into the distance. "Mara?"

"They're gone."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Just like that…they're gone."

"Do you miss them?" Dimethic asked. There was a brief silence.

"Not at all. I just know them well enough…someone probably survived. Gohan probably did."

"Even if he did, it's of no concern to us. Earth has been destroyed and he will have nowhere to go. He'll die a cold and lonely death."

"Just like I will." She whispered.

"What?"

"Nothing." Mara said, getting up from her chair. "Just musing."

"I see." Dimethic said, raising an eyebrow as she walked before him.

"When are we going to get to the main ship?"

"In about 5 shouls."

"I'm still getting used to the language, you're going to have to translate that for me."

"5 Earth hours Madame."

"Good." Mara said. Dimethic stopped walking with her and let her go. "Then I can finally discuss my plans with Medilan." Thelia appeared.

"You do not fully trust her, do you?" Thelia asked.

"No." Dimethic replied. "No matter how much power I give to her 'bad side', a part of her still loves that demi-Saiyan. It could end up driving her to madness."

"It won't anymore. He's as good as dead. No more distractions for her."

"Same for you eh?" Dimethic asked. Thelia gave him a deadly look.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I saw the way you were looking at him when you were fighting. You love him, you always have."

"Don't be so ridiculous. I would never act in such a predictable manner." Thelia said.

"I am a telepath Thelia dear, please don't insult me." Dimethic smirked. With an angry look on her face, Thelia disappeared. "I sure can clear a room."

Back to CC… 

"There's this legend on our planet, that describes an important event. My father and several others think that that event is here." Zophen started.

"The vagueness continues." Vegeta said sounding very annoyed.

"The legend says that in a time when Tocopherat is at its most corrupt, heroes descended from exiles will help to restore the peace and return the rightful rule to the planet." Zophen said.

"I think he may be talking about us." David said, in mock awe. "Duuuuuuuude…"

"May I?" Nicholas asked.

"Be my guest." Andrea said. Nicholas nudged David in the ribs. Unfortunately, he was so enthused about doing so he ended up knocking David on the floor.

"I always wondered why you guys enjoyed doing that to me so much, now I know." Nicholas grinned.

"Can we please get on with the story?" Goku said.

"Gomen…" Nicholas bowed his head down.

"The legend goes on to say that the one with the brightest spirit, the purest soul and with unbridled power will have to overcome many obstacles before returning to what that person was once before." Zophen said.

"That sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings." Trunks said.

"Yeah, like a prophecy for Aragorn." Krillin added.

"And cue the fangirl sighs…" Nicholas sighed.

"Ahh…Aragon-sama…" Numerous women and girls in the room sighed.

"Then the legend says some stuff about a great battle taking place, but the battle will be very out of the ordinary. It won't be fought using weapons or combat. It also says that a hero will not be a native of Tocopherat and will have something to do with ruling the planet from then on." Zophen finished.

"That's very obviously talking about Gohan." #18 said.

"Yeah." Yamcha nodded in agreement.

"How in the heck did Gandalf mistake you for Gohan?" Natalie said to Nicholas, almost laughing.

"Is that meant to be a dig?" Nicholas asked, narrowing his eyes.

"No, just an honest question." Natalie said, narrowing her eyes as well. Eventually Nicholas backed down.

"Curse your alluring eyes o' stunning wife of mine!" Nicholas cursed. Everyone in the room sweat-dropped.

"It may not necessarily be Gohan." Tien said. "The legend could be talking about anyone sitting in this room, seeing as no combat or weapons are gonna be used in this fight. The battle could be won because of an invention that Bulma makes or maybe even a bad joke by Krillin."

"Very funny." Krillin replied, scowling.

"Or even an evil glare by Papa." Bra pointed out.

"Well my evil glares have been known to put people in the hospital." Vegeta added.

"But who would want to leave Earth and go be ruler of another planet?" Goku asked. He then looked over to Vegeta who was chuckling evilly, probably at the thought of those he had put in the hospital. "Never mind, I think I just answered my own question."

"Shut up Kakarrot." Vegeta scowled. "Hey Onna, have you got that machine running yet?"

"NO! STOP RUSHING ME!!" Bulma snapped. Everyone blinked in surprise.

"Break out the PMS medicine…" Yamcha chuckled.

"What was that?!" Bulma yelled.

"You heard me!" Yamcha yelled back. Everyone looked surprised.

"Anyhoo…" Trunks said, breaking the silence. "This legend thingy is a little too vague."

"That's right. Even if it is talking about Gohan, what does it mean when it says 'returning to what that person was before'?" Goku asked.

"It could mean Gohan returning to the power he was once at." Piccolo said. "We all know he was at his strongest when he fought Cell."

"Yeah, but that mystic power he got from Old Kai made him stronger than any of us. That includes me and Vegeta combined." Goku said. Vegeta scowled even more.

"That doesn't really account for much now, seeing as you both have the strength of children." Yamcha said. Vegeta's eyebrow began to twitch violently.

"How long have you been waiting to make him do that?" Krillin whispered.

"Too long Krillin, too long." Yamcha replied.

"Does anyone else feel like they're out of the loop here?" Remy asked. All the kids and Zophen raised their hands. "Good, I didn't want to be the only one."

"Okay, the transmission coordinates have been put in and now we're scanning the signals…" Bulma stopped before she got anymore technical. "Um, we're gonna hook up to their system."

"Good. The sooner we talk to that old man, the sooner we find out if this crap is true." Vegeta said.

"What's the matter with your Dad?" Daniel asked Bra.

"He's just a bit cranky not being the centre of all this attention." Bra replied. Daniel sweat-dropped.

"It worked!!" Bulma exclaimed. Sure enough on the monitor was the face of the elder Zophen was referring to.

"Gandalf! What's up?" David asked. The elder looked confused.

"What a gip, he's still the same!" Nicholas said sadly and folded his arms. "He's not even a little bit **shiny**!" The elder looked even more confused.

"CAN YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WE ARE SAYING?!?!" Bulma yelled.

"Onna, he's from a different planet. He is not deaf." Vegeta said.

"But we are now." Piccolo sighed, rubbing his ears.

"I do not know if Zophen has informed you yet but my name is not Gandalf." The elder said. Everyone face-faulted.

"You speak Japanese?!" Bulma asked.

"No, I am however wearing a universal translator. It appears to you that I am speaking your primitive Earth language."

"Arrogant isn't he?" Vegeta said.

"Well you'd know all about that." #18 replied.

"It also seems that I mistakenly identified the tall one as the legendary hero." The elder said.

"Dude, that's not fair. Getting my hopes up like that."

"Are you fishing for an apology?"

"…Maybe."

"Not getting one. I do not apologise."

"What a lil f…"

"Um, Elder sir? Can you please tell us what in the blue hell is going on?" Andrea asked, conveniently interrupting Nicholas.

"Is it me, or have we just been listening to explanations and stories for the past few days?" Krillin asked. Various people nodded in agreement. "I never thought I'd say this but I'm starting to miss the fighting!"

"Zophen. Have you explained to them what is going on?" The elder asked. Zophen nodded. "Then, my dear, I do not see the need to explain any further."

"Oy…" Andrea said.

"Okay, so from the cryptic stuff that your boy keeps giving us I've worked out that we're being attacked because Medilan is included in the corruption that legend thingy is talking about. Also because we're probably descendents from those exile guys. I'd also guess that the reason Videl was taken was because she has the least protection against mental manipulation and he knew Gohan's judgement would be screwy if his wife was evil so he wouldn't be a threat. Did I leave anything out?" Natalie asked.

"See, this is one of the many reasons I married you." Nicholas beamed proudly.

"I just put everything that's already been said into coherent sentences." Natalie said, scrunching up her face. Nicholas continued to beam until she pinched his arm.

"OW! What the heck was that for?"

"You were making me feel embarrassed."

"Kawaaaaaaii!" Nicholas grinned.

"You must be very secure with your masculinity to do that." Trunks commented.

"Oh, he's done worse." David said. The elder cleared his throat in annoyance.

"Well you missed out one very important fact." The elder said.

"Which is?" Natalie asked.

"The bond that holds you six together has been severed." The elder replied. Natalie got a sad look on her face, as did David. Everyone else looked confused.

"Severed?!" Maria squealed in fright.

"Okay, okay, every kid under the age of 13 please exit and go watch TV. I'm pretty sure that the Teen Titans are on." Bulma said. The kids proceeded to the TV room. (1)

"What's he talking about?" Andrea asked, referring to the elder.

"He's talking about when you guys fought Medilan's father…and never told me about it." Natalie replied.

"Crap, I was hoping that wouldn't come up again." Nicholas said wistfully.

"Ever since then, we haven't really been able to communicate as well as we used to. You can't talk to Nick in front of me without feeling guilty, me and Dave haven't really been able to see eye to eye…even before that, and this just made things worse." Natalie said. "10 years of awkwardness tends to do something y'know."

"It's understandable that as humans grow older, they become more mature and change, especially when offspring are thrown into the equation. But you have all changed dramatically in ways that you should not have…except the one that keeps insisting that my name is Gandalf." The elder said.

"I'm sorry my man, but it's an uncanny resemblance." Nicholas said.

"How do you mean?"

"You're both old!"

"He does have a point." Andrea said, trying to get back on the subject. Everyone looked at her. "Not about the Gandalf thing! We really aren't the same people we were when we got our powers. The only one who's remotely close would be Nicholas."

"Is that your subtle way of telling me I haven't grown up Andie?" Nicholas asked. Andrea laughed nervously and continued.

"Killing Medilan's father obviously changed Gohan, in ways we'll probably never be able to understand. Videl has been changing slowly over time. She never knew her mother and finding out that her mother was part alien, she's been wondering what her life would be like if she lived there." Andrea said.

"Plus the royalty angle didn't hurt matters." Nicholas said snidely. David elbowed him.

"David has become more cynical as he's become older, seeing what happened with Nat and her mother all those years ago. Natalie has become a lot more paranoid since we hid that secret from her, and this has made her lose touch with her very approachable nature, which isn't a good thing considering the nature of her powers." Andrea said.

"It isn't a good thing for any of us." David said. "Our powers are fuelled by emotion only, not chi manipulation."

"And with Gohan's onna now on their side, you've given them a great advantage." Vegeta said. "So, what the hell can we do to fix it?"

"Someone come quick!" Cory ran into the room. "The machine's around Papa are beeping really loud."

"Shimatta!" Natalie said, as she ran into the infirmary. Everyone else soon followed suit.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi yelled.

"Okay, 75% of the people in here need to go. There's not enough room." Natalie said. She checked Gohan's eyes and then started compressions. "Okay, his heart rate is dropping. Get me the paddles!" Bulma handed them to Natalie. "Okay…clear!" BZZZT! "No improvement…CLEAR!" BZZZT!

"Come on son, you can pull through this." Chi-Chi said. She felt Goku reach for her hand.

"It'll be alright Chi-Chi." Goku said reassuringly.

"Okay good, we've got his heart back to normal. Breathing normal." Natalie said, looking over all the machines. "His brainwaves look wrong."

"You're not a neurologist, are you sure you can make a call like that?" Bulma asked.

"Trust me, a med student could tell that there's something not wrong here." Natalie said. "He's giving up, he's not fighting to stay conscious."

"You're a psychic, you've got to help him!" Chi-Chi demanded.

"I could make things a lot worse than they are." Natalie said.

"How much worse could they get?!"

"Okay, I'll do it. I just hope I can get through to him." Natalie said, closing her eyes.

In the midst of deep space… 

"Aaaagg!" Mara said, as she crouched over in pain.

"My Lady, is everything okay?" Dimethic asked her.

"I'm fine. I…I just feel a little dizzy." Mara replied. _Dizzy nothing…it felt like something was being ripped out of me! Nothing physical…something…something…important…I can't place it!_

**To Be Continued…**

I know, it's a b of a cliffhanger but as I'm writing this the European Football Tournament is about to enter the second stage…I'm sorry. Footie geek me, you know what the English are like. Anyhoo, I've gotten most of the next chapter written out. It just needs a few adjustments…this time I'm serious!!

(1) Teen Titans is the Cartoon Network/WB animated series, which starts Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy. AND IT HAS THE CATCHIEST THEME TUNE SINCE THE 80S MAN!! (Ahem!)


	13. The Woman He Knew

**Rifts and Changes**

**Chapter Thirteen: The Woman He Knew**

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their templates are people I know

A/N: Ara…thirteen chapters, and I'm not even at the halfway point of this story! Yeah, I actually mapped out what was going to happen before I did it. Y'all thought I was making this up as I went along huh? :P

Marie Marko, your story in your review made me reminiscent. I've been writing about these characters for four years!! Ah, feeling old! I was 15 then! I don't know if I'll ever be able to part with these characters but sadly, the day will come eventually. This is meant to be the last story…but then again, I've been known to change my mind. We shall see!

* * *

"I knew it!!" Natalie exclaimed. She was currently in a psychic form, inside Son Gohan's mind. She looked around and saw a vast library. "I knew if I ever entered Gohan's mind, it'd be a library. The boy knows waaaaay too much. Although, this isn't a very good confidence boost for my intelligence. I have, like, one filing cabinet in my brain." She started to walk around trying to find Gohan. "Hmm…no one at the service desk…in fact, this place is pretty much person-less."

"Hi!" A little voice said.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHH!!" Natalie screamed. "Kid, please don't sneak up on me like that."

"I apologise. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Son Gohan!" A 5-year old Gohan said. Natalie started giggling. _This must be Gohan's inner child…Freud, I bet you wish you could be seeing this._

"Of course you are!" Natalie said. "I'm Natalie."

"Pleased to meet you!"

"So, he was like this since childhood. I always thought he'd grown into it."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, just musing out loud." Natalie said. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"What are all these books for?"

"Some store information, some store instructions on how to function and most of them are memories."

"Really?" She said, with a wolfish grin. She turned to look at little Gohan but saw that he had vanished. "Hmm…methinks he's on to me. Ah well! Better get on with it before Gohan's brain police come and get me!" She looked through the books and found one with the title 'When I first met Videl'. Natalie opened the book and a holographic image appeared. "Bloody hell, even his memories are advanced technology."

"Hey." Videl said, walking up to Gohan. "Who did that? Don't tell me it was the police." She was asking about a robbery that Gohan had just stopped.

**_"Uh…I didn't see." Gohan said nervously._**

**_"And I came all this way!! I wonder who it was." Videl pondered to herself while Gohan snuck away._**

"That's it?!" Natalie exclaimed as the hologram turned off. "That's their big first meeting?! Come on, I was expecting fuzzy vision, cherry blossom petals flying around, corny girl-anime music and a narrative that were Gohan's inner thoughts!! I, like after seeing Minority Report, am sorely disappointed."

_In reality…_

"Okay, Gohan seems to look…I wanna say embarrassed." Nicholas said.

"That's not different from how he normally looks." Goku stated.

"True." Nicholas nodded in agreement.

_Back in the brain…_

"Okay, let's see here." Natalie said, looking through the books. "Hmm, 'Our proper first date'. I really hope this is better than the first one."

**_"Okay, you can open your eyes now." Gohan said. Videl opened them and saw that Gohan had taken them to a remote place in the woods next to a lake._**

**_"Gohan, this is beautiful!" Videl exclaimed._**

**_"I thought since the press are always hounding you down, you would prefer somewhere out of the spotlight." Gohan said, smiling bashfully._**

**_"Why do I get the feeling it's because you didn't want the guys to see us?" Videl asked. Gohan blushed._**

**_"It's just that…I think they enjoy embarrassing me!" Gohan exclaimed. Videl giggled._**

"Uh! We do not!! In case you're forgetting, I'm the one who helped you two get together! No matter how messy it was, it still worked!" Natalie huffed. She felt a tap on her shoulder and dropped the book. She turned around and saw Gohan. "Um, hi?"

"What are you doing looking through my private memories?" Gohan asked, looking rather angry.

"Believe me, that's not why I came into your brain!! I was looking around for you, or whatever represented you, and then I found chibi-you and he told me all about these books…I was curious." Natalie said, embarrassed.

"You shouldn't be in here!" Gohan practically screamed.

"Gohan, I had to come! You're giving up on your life."

"Who are you to tell me that I have a life?" Gohan said, walking away from her. She started to follow. "My wife is evil, my daughter is dead! What do I have to live for?!"

"Woah, Gohan!" Natalie said. "A lot of things have been going on! Pan's not dead, she's fine." Gohan looked at her for what seemed like quite a while, then the look of anger in his eyes grew as he turned his face away from her view.

"You lie." He barely uttered. She was still able to tell from those two words how much pain he was feeling.

"Nuh uh!" Natalie said, and then proceeded to mentally chide herself for such a childish comeback. She sighed sadly. "She is! She's asleep right now though, but with some rest…"

"Videl's still evil?" Gohan asked, cutting her off. She fell silent. "I thought so."

"She's not evil, she's just confused."

"She's the one that Zophen was warning about. That you were warning us about when you had that vision." Gohan said, acting like he wasn't listening to a word she was saying.

"I don't…"

"The enemy has planted a seed that has outgrown its boundaries…that's what you said when you had that vision."

"I don't remember that."

"Zophen said that he couldn't warn us because someone couldn't be trusted."

"Gohan…" She sighed.

"So that means they've been doing this to Videl for sometime now." Gohan said. "She's been slowly turning evil…and I didn't even notice. Every time we would talk about anything Tocopherat related, she would distance herself from me but I just thought it was because she didn't think I'd understand. This never even entered my darkest thoughts."

"Gohan, I know I can't possibly understand what you're going through right now but you can't just throw your life away like this! Your kids need you! Your family needs you! Videl needs you!"

"Videl doesn't need me!!" Gohan yelled. "She has that skinny telepathic bastard!"

"Who is using her as a puppet." Natalie said. "Gohan, you know Videl better than anyone. She is much too stubborn to just go along with what he wants her to do. She needs you to go and save her." There was a brief silence.

"I can't." Gohan said.

"Since when have you ever given up so easily?" Natalie asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Ever since I saw that look in Videl's eyes. When she, without hesitation, tried to kill my daughter." Gohan said. "I'm much too late to go and save Videl, because she's already gone. The woman I knew would never do anything like that. The woman I knew loved her family more than life itself and would never, ever do anything like that. She despised people like that! So did I." Natalie walked up to Gohan and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Then you go and fight for the woman you knew. She is being held captive, that much I know. But if you truly believe that she is gone Son Gohan then you go and fight for the women you knew. Go and fight for her honour." Natalie said. Gohan was caught a little off guard by the seriousness in his friend's voice.

"Her honour?"

"They took her and made her into something she despised, just like you said. Do not let them get away with that! You can't. Even if you don't get her back, at least you'll let them get what they deserve."

"I don't know." Gohan's eyebrows creased together in deep thought.

"She would do the same if you were in her place." That hit Gohan hard. He knew she was right. Videl would. She would never just lie down and give up because things were hard. He loved that determination about her. It was one of the things he admired most about her. He also remembered his father, who even when things look their darkest, still tried to find a way for everything to be all right. He knew that determination also existed in him too. He just had to find it.

"Oh man…you're right!" Gohan said, as he started laughing. Not because he was happy but because he had finally realised that there was still hope left.

"Don't sound so surprised, it happens on occasion." Natalie said. Gohan looked at her and smiled.

"Arigatou."

"Come on, forget about it!" Natalie smiled back.

_Back in reality…_

"I wonder why they're both smiling…" Nicholas pondered.

"Maybe she got through to him!" Chi-Chi said.

"Or maybe they're talking about you Nick." David teased.

"Shut up before I make you buttmunch." Nicholas said, his face red with anger.

"Oooooooooh!"

_Back in the brain…_

"So…how bad is it out there?" Gohan asked.

"Not too bad, the enemy think we're dead so we have a bit of an advantage. The kids are okay, your parents are freaking out a bit, and Vegeta-san is a bit angry." Natalie said.

"Well at least Vegeta is acting normal." Gohan sighed. "I haven't been a good leader, have I?"

"If you would quit doubting yourself all the time then maybe that wouldn't happen." Natalie said. "Besides, in this team there is no specific leader. We all work together, triumph together and fail together."

"You've been watching Angel recently, haven't you?"

"He was so much better at the motivational speeches than Buffy was."

"So, if I'm not the leader guy, who am I?"

"That is for you to decide. But in my view, you're the sane one. I mean, imagine if Nick was the leader! Everyone would have to have witty one liners and he'd put me in spandex."

"It's scary."

"What?"

"He said exactly the same thing."

"If I know anyone, it's my baby. You ready to wake up now?"

"Just about." Gohan said, smiling.

"Everything will be fine."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we're the good guys, and the good guys always win eventually." Natalie said. Gohan raised an eyebrow. "It sounded good in my head."

"Well we're in my head now, and I say that's corny."

"…Gohan made a joke!" Natalie chuckled. "You feeling a little better then?"

"Yeah."

"You ready to kick mucho alien butt?!"

"HAI!" Gohan saluted.

_Back in reality…_

"Should we be worried that it's taking this long?" Andrea asked.

"Not at all." Natalie said, snapping out of the trance. "What?"

"How is Gohan?! Is he going to be okay?!" Chi-Chi yelled. Natalie sweat-dropped.

"Well…physically yes. Emotionally I think so." Natalie said. "His confidence is not doing well though."

"Daddy's gonna wake up then?" Cory asked.

"Yes, he just needs a rest."

_On Medilan's ship…_

"Finally. I have been waiting all day to have a word with you." Medilan said, walking towards Mara.

"As have I-oof!" Medilan slapped Mara across the room. "What the hell was that for?!"

"For destroying the Earth." Medilan said. Even though he was talking in a very calm manner, he was still getting across that he was very angry.

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Mara asked. "I was under the impression that…"

"Exactly. You acted foolishly and could have cost our own officers their lives." Medilan said. "I never wanted the Earth destroyed…only those Decolains."

"For killing your father."

"More or less." Medilan said. Mara raised an eyebrow. "Now leave, while I think up a suitable punishment for you."

"Whatever." Mara rolled her eyes and left Medilan. "He's hiding something…"

_Back to the CC…_

"What are we gonna do now? We can't just sit here…waiting…" David said.

"Thanks for the dramatic pauses Dave." Nicholas commented. David stuck his tongue out.

"We're gonna get ready…and I've got a plan." Gohan said. Everyone turned around and gasped.

"Gohan, you really should NOT be out of bed!" Natalie said, rushing over and making him sit down. Chi-Chi rushed over to her son and hugged him hard. Everyone else also went over to Gohan expressing their relief and happiness that he was alright.

_Five minutes later…_

"So, Kakarrot's son. You have a plan?" Vegeta asked.

"Yep. We're going to war. As soon as we're ready. Zophen, you said it yourself that these guys would probably be stronger on your planet." Gohan said. Zophen nodded. "Then that's where you're going. We've got the advantage of time, they think we're dead. First things first, everyone with a power deficit is gonna go under training in all things Tocopheran."

"New techniques? Yay!" Goku cheered.

"Um, sorry Tousan. Only hybrids can learn these powers." Gohan said. Goku looked sad. "Also-…" But before Gohan could finish off what he was saying, the door was blown down. Everyone got in defensive stances, only to see that Launch (in blonde mode) was at the door.

"Look who I found!" Launch yelled, holding the arm of a very nervous looking Uubu.

"Uubu!" Goku exclaimed. Uubu bowed humbly.

"It's good to see you again Sensei." Uubu said.

"Okay, my doctor says I still need a great deal of healing." Gohan said, looking nervously at a very cross-looking Natalie. "So, dividing up into teams. Andie, I want you to take Trunks and train him…and my brother whenever he decides to show up. Nick; Drake, Claudia and the Twins are going with you. Tousan and Vegeta, I know you think it's redundant but you're going to have to have some form of self defence so Krillin will show you the basics."

"**YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THE BASICS!**" Vegeta roared.

"Come at me, with everything you've got." Gohan said. Vegeta charged at him and Gohan stopped him with one finger. "I think I've proved my point." Vegeta growled. "I'm not talking about basic skills, I'm talking about self defence. As in using your brain instead of relying on your brains. Krillin's an expert at that."

"Thanks much Gohan." Krillin smirked triumphantly. Vegeta stormed off into the garden. "Although, you've probably sentenced me to death."

"Everyone else, I'd appreciate it if you'd just train or do whatever you think is necessary. From what I've seen, the Tocopherans are far too power reliant so they should be a piece of cake for the rest of you. When training is complete, everyone will be split into two teams. One team will go to Tocopherat and the other will stay here and guard the Earth. No doubt they'll attack when they realise we're alive."

"I'm giving you two weeks people. Make it count." Gohan said. Ch-Chi proceeded to wheel him away in a wheelchair.

"It's time for the Commish to take a rest people." Chi-Chi said.

"Chi-Chi just made a joke?" Goku asked. Vegeta nodded. "Scary…"

When they were a significant distance away from the others, Chi-Chi turned the wheelchair around to face her son.

"Don't start."

"I've got to. You're gonna drive yourself insane. No one should go through what you've just been through…and no one would blame you if you sat this one out."

"Would you sit out if it was Tousan out there?"

"…I guess not. But being a good leader means knowing your limitations Gohan." Chi-Chi said. "Remember, you are not in this alone. You're friends are here too."

"I want to see my daughter."

"Fine. Ignore what I'm saying. Just like usual."

"I'm not ignoring you. I just…I don't want to hear all that now."

"I love you, you know. I'm just looking out for you."

"I know…I love you too Mama."

_In the Garden…_

"Woooo! So where have you two been?" Trunks asked, as Goten and CJ walked into the room.

"Shut up Mop Top!" CJ said angrily.

"We've been out…making up." Goten smirked. Everyone raised their eyebrows.

"Get your minds out of the gutter, Goten's the one who said it." CJ said.

"True." Trunks replied. Goten blinked.

"Don't worry, I will explain it to you later." CJ sighed.

"Hey." Nicholas walked into the garden. "Can we talk?"

"Sure." Natalie said. Nicholas led Natalie outside. There was a brief silence. "Honey, what's…"

"Nat, could you 'port us to Seki's Hill?"

"Um, sure." Natalie said, teleporting them to a hill in the park near Orange Star High. "Wow, it's been a long time since we've been here."

"Yeah, those were good times."

"Is everything okay?" Natalie asked. Nicholas looked at her surprised. "Sorry, but you would've at least tried to have copped a feel by now."

"I'm worried about you…about us." Nicholas said. "This thing with Videl is really getting to you."

"Of course it is Nick. I'm worried about her."

"That's not what I meant." Nicholas said sternly. Natalie leaned against a tree.

"It's just…I feel so bad for Gohan. I feel like a total heel because…because I'm scared. I'm scared because that was nearly me."

"I don't understand."

"When you fought before…you could've died."

"But I didn't."

"But you could've! And so would my friends. I would have no one to help me get through that because I wouldn't have known what happened…so many scenarios ran through my mind…what could've happened to you…if it was my fault…"

"Never. This was never your fault." Nicholas said sternly.

"I can't help feeling that way Nick." Natalie said, tears starting to stream down her face. "In the end, it would've been just me and Drake left. I wouldn't be able to take care of him…he'd have such a bad childhood…I'd end up being a terrible mother."

"What are you talking about?" Nicholas said, putting his hands on her shoulders. He looked deeply into her eyes. "You are one of the strongest women I know, you don't need me." Natalie laughed a bit. "What's so funny?"

"You still don't get it. We've known each other for so long and been married for almost half of that." Natalie said. "I cannot function without you because you are a big, permanent part of me. It's got nothing to with reliance or capability. Emotionally, I am connected to you. I always have been."

"Nat…" Nicholas was speechless.

"I've never loved anyone else Nicholas. I've only ever loved you. Superficial crushes can't compare with what I feel for you. You always go on about how lucky you are to have me because of your quirkiness. But I love your quirkiness, it's not a burden. I love everything about you, and I can honestly say there is nothing about you that I don't love. I am lucky to have you. Not the other way round, and there's nothing you can say that can change that."

"Nat, I had no idea you felt this way about me." Nicholas smiled.

"Are you kidding me?!" Natalie cried, smacking him in the ribs. "I'm totally and utterly besotted with you! Even more as time goes on, if that's possible. Just the sound or sight of you makes me weak in the knees, never mind both! And when you smile…anyway, I'm going off on a tangent. The thought of losing you kills me inside…so we make a deal."

"Um, okay?"

"I go first."

"What?!"

"Well I obviously can't cope with you dying…"

"And I can?!"

"I'm guessing so!"

"Come here you." Nicholas said, pulling his wife into an embrace. He then looked at her and wiped away her tears. "I love you, as much as you love me. So I guess we have to go at the same time." Natalie laughed. "Soooooo…I make you weak in the knees huh?"

"Shut up! You can't hold me accountable for that! I was vulnerable and junk!" Natalie said pulling away from him.

"Oh yes I can." Nicholas said, holding her hips and pulling her in closer than close. "So, when I hold you like this and whisper in your ear…just about nothing, but low enough to strike a nerve… that make you weak in the knees?"

"Uh huh…" Natalie barely whispered. He held her face and kissed her softly and slowly. "Mmm…" He quickened the pace and she couldn't help but go along with it. She ran her hands down his chest and abdomen. As the kiss became a lot more passionate than it started out, Nicholas broke the kiss.

"Good to know that I got the power in that department baby." Nicholas said, sporting a wicked smirk.

"Oh no, you're not getting away that easily." Natalie said, pushing them to the ground so she landed on top of him.

"Nat!"

"Hey, you started it!"

"No, wait…not there! You know that's my weakness…"

"Of course I do."

**Brrrrrrrrrrring!!**

"Honey, I think your pants are ringing."

"You bet your sweet…"

"As in your cell phone baka!"

"I knew that!" Nicholas said, answering the phone. "Yes Fuhrer, we're on our way. Dave wants to know why we're not at the house."

"You know what I just realised?"

"What?"

"Our house is gone, and you don't seem too broken up about losing your David Beckham signed football." (1)

"That's okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah, because you lost all of you Orlando Bloom stuff." (2) Nicholas grinned. Natalie fell back laughing. "So, you do think I'm funny."

"Of course I do." Natalie replied. "I don't tell you that you are because your ego would grow…even more so."

"Nani?!" Nicholas explained, as they checked themselves over (heh) and teleported back.

_In the CC garden…_

"They are really beginning to annoy me." Goten stated.

"Just ignore them long enough, they'll stop soon." CJ said.

"No they won't. You know they won't."

"There's nothing wrong with a little hope Son."

"I can't take it."

"You burst out, you're letting them win."

"WHY IN THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU STARING AT US LIKE THAT?!?!" Goten yelled.

"And I'm promptly ignored. How lovely." CJ sighed. Goten's anger was directed at Trunks, Marron and Remy who were all staring at the newly formed couple with wide grins.

"You know why!" Remy replied in a sing-song voice. "Which reminds me, Juliana owes me money man…and with interest!"

"You bet money on whether or not we'd get together?" CJ asked, giving her a deathly look.

"Um, no?" Remy said sheepishly, before hiding behind Marron. "Make her stop, it's creepy!"

"NOW YOU KNOW HOW WE FEEL!" Goten yelled.

"Can you please put the volume down?" Trunks asked, still grinning. Goten's eyebrow twitched. "Ooh, I've never seen you do that before. My Dad's gonna be mad you stole his trademark." Goten tackled Trunks to the ground and they began to fight.

"I'm beginning to feel a little worried." Zophen said to Andrea.

"Why Zophen?"

"They're supposed to be helping us save the Earth? And possibly my planet also?" Zophen said. Andrea looked over to the younger group and saw that while the two demi-Saiyans were wrestling, Marron and Remy were urging them on yelling 'FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

"Don't worry Zophen." Andrea said, smiling. "If anything, that's what will help us get to victory." Zophen gave her a confused look.

_In the infirmary…_

"Papa, I'm so glad you're okay." Pan said weakly. Gohan smiled, tears forming in his eyes.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Gohan asked. "Pan, do your best to get better."

"Mommy's gonna be okay right?" Pan asked.

"We're gonna go and fight for her Pan." Gohan replied. "It's what she would want us to do."

"Good." Pan smiled. "Because she didn't do this on purpose. It wasn't her fault."

"I know that now honey." Gohan said. I just hope Videl believes it…when she comes out of all this.

To Be Continued…

A new chapter. Yay!! I will try my best to get the next one out relatively quickly. In the next chapter, a twist in the plot will see two old characters returning! Stay tuned!

(1) David Beckham is the England Football Captain and no.23 on the Real Madrid football squad. He's also Posh Spice's husband. Hence the term, Posh and Becks

(2) C'mon people! Legolas! And don't give me no "I dunno who this Legolas person is" … cos I will just start to cry!


	14. Traning! Or Off To Tocopherat!

**Rifts and Changes**

**Chapter Fourteen: Training! Or Off To Tocopherat!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their templates are people I know

A/N: I am so so so so SO sorry!! This chapter took longer than even I expected!! Writer's block happened at around ¼ through this chapter and…I'm really sorry! Hopefully this chapter will be good enough to make up for it!

_10 days later…_

"Nnnnnnnnnnnngg…they've started AGAIN!!" Vegeta roared as he turned over in his bed and put the pillow over his head. "WHY DO THEY HATE ME!?!?"

"Vegeta, you know the sooner you get up, the sooner they stop." Bulma said. Vegeta looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "You know I'm right!!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Vegeta said. "This training we've been doing is ridiculous! I've gotten weaker not stronger! My body aches!"

"Oh, you've never ached before?"

"Not like this! This is…whatever." Vegeta said. "I'm not going downstairs and they can't make me."

"Well, if they don't then everyone else will come up here and get you instead." Bulma sighed. "Just go will you! It's getting louder!"

_Meanwhile, downstairs…_

"This idea was genius Gohan." Andrea smiled.

"Evil genius you mean. If it wasn't for the fact that we were saving the world, I would be knocking some heads by now." CJ said, as many others nodded in agreement. "It's not fair to broadcast that stuff into our houses too." Again, those same others nodded in agreement. Bulma had the smart idea of giving everyone small capsule houses on the enormous Capsule Corp back garden. Each family had a house of their own, meaning The Sons (Goku, Chi-Chi and Goten), Krillin's family, Gohan's family etc. CJ had decided to go and crash at Remy's, seeing as she would be on her own otherwise.

"What was I supposed to do? You all stopped listening to the alarm clock after the second day." Gohan said. He was now back to full strength, unlike the other Saiyans. Goten looked half asleep all the time, Trunks was very irritable and Goku…well Goku was fine as long as his stomach was full. After all, he wasn't born super powerful, he was a martial artist first and was doing fine. As were all the other Z-Fighters. Except Piccolo. He did not mind waking up early, he just hated loud, unnecessary noises.

"This is not an alarm clock Gohan. That's torture." Trunks grumbled. "There should be laws against waking up this early."

"Five am is not early…" Gohan started to say.

"Yes it is, we're awake before the sun is!"

"Don't be so dramatic Trunks." Gohan sighed.

"I'M HERE! YOU CAN TURN OFF THE ?!£$ ALARM!" Vegeta yelled. Everyone present started to laugh. What Vegeta hadn't counted on when he lost his Saiyan DNA was that the ability for his hair to stand on end had also gone. "SHUT UP!"

"Sorry Papa, but you look like a rock star from Mama's day." Bra laughed.

"What do you mean, my day? I'm not that old!" Bulma cried.

"Sorry Vegeta, we can't stop yet, Drake and Claudia aren't up yet." Gohan said.

"I'll go and wake them Gohan, this won't affect them." Natalie said. The 'torture' that everyone had been complaining about was David and Nicholas's singing. Gohan, who was often part of the audience for his friends' concerts, felt that these two together would be a force more powerful than any alarm clock. Gohan had also asked them to sing along to songs sung by girls or were just generally loud.

"Tomato wa dame! Watashi no mono! Tako wa ageru Mitame ga kirai!" David and Nicholas sang. (1)

"Of for the love of…" Trunks said as he began to rub his temples.

"Pappara funi funi pappara hoe hoe. Pappara funi funi tamago! Pappara funi funi pappara hoe hoe. Yuden akaya nama tamago! Pappara funi funi pappara hoe hoe. Pappara funi funi biiru! Pappara funi funi pappara hoe hoe Yuden akaya nama biiru." The duo continued. The two of them were in the observation room, singing over the PA system. Gohan also had Nicholas hook the systems up via satellite so that everyone could hear them and be on time for training.

"That's enough you two." Gohan said.

"Aww, but Gohan! We were about to get to the best part!" Nicholas said, with David nodding in agreement.

"I thought you were in a band in high school." Trunks almost spat at Nicholas.

"Young sir, I was." Nicholas said. "But there is a difference between singing to put on a show and singing to annoy the heck out of everyone."

"I myself excel at the latter." David added.

"Yes, we've heard." Trunks said. "These last eight days have been torture…"

_On day three…_

"Honey, isn't it time to get up for training now?" Marron said, trying to wake up Trunks.

"Gohan must be screwy if he thinks I'm getting up at 5am for the third day in a row." Trunks barely mumbled.

"Everyone seems to be ignoring my alarm." Gohan said, over the PA system. He sighed heavily. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this but you have left me no choice."

"Sometimes I wonder if Gohan has been spending to much time around you Nick…Nick?" Natalie said, noticing her husband was absent. "Oh hell…" She sighed, and put two pillows over her ears.

"Everyone has to be awake, and downstairs or else this will not stop. Hit it boys." Gohan said.

"Oh hell…" Andrea sighed, as she put on a pair of ear mufflers.

"Sore wa ai ja nai…! Ai wa sore ja nai…! Ai shite 'ru kedo ai sarete wa inai. Kesshite ai ja nai…! Ketsu wa ai ja nai…! Ai shite 'ru kedo motometari wa shinai." Nicholas and David sang, trying their best to imitate the Excel Girls. (2)

"He has got to be kidding…" Goku sighed, as he slowly made his way in the main house. "There had better be some food when I get down there."

"Huh?! Ms Ayasugi?!?!" Goten said, jumping up in so much shock that he fell off his futon. (3)

_Day four…_

"Haraheri wanpaku Kinto-Un. Yama hodo takusan suiheisen. Deatte wakarete deatte wakarete. Ta - i - he – n! Ah mou Kami-Sama mo tsurai yo ne! ...Gomen. Woh... Manpuku ZENKAI pawaa! Dete koi tobikiri ZENKAI pawaa!!!" (4)

"What on Earth are you doing Vegeta?!" Bulma asked.

"I'm hoping to either kill myself or at least go into a coma." Vegeta said, as he continually banged his head against a wall.

_Day five…_

"Hey, you're actually downstairs on time. Without any horrible comment whatsoever." Gohan said. Trunks blushed in embarrassment.

"Well, I kinda like this song…and they're not singing it badly." Trunks said.

"You are indeed a strange man Mop Top." CJ said.

"Boys, you're singing too well. Crank up the annoyingness please." Gohan said, as everyone looked at him in shock. "What? Vegeta and Krillin aren't up yet."

"Omoi de wa itsumo kirei dakedo! Sore dake ja onaka ga suku wa. Honto wa setsunai yoru nanoni! Doushite kashira? Ano hito no egao mo omoi dasenai noooooo! Omoidasenai nooooooooooo!" They sang, at the highest pitch they could get. (5) 

"You are so dead when Vegeta-san gets up." Goten said, grinning evilly at Trunks.

"Ah, ah, ah Son Goten. No evil gloating this early in the morning. We want to keep the evil eye away!" Chi-Chi scolded.

"Hai…"

"Oowoaaaoooooooooooooo!!"

_Day six…_

"Brat, listen. My wife, she's probably the richest person in the world. If you stop with this childish morning ritual, I will make sure you will never have to work a day in your life again." Vegeta said.

"I can't believe you've been reduced to this." Goku said. "I mean, this should be fun for you!"

"Kakarrot…"

"Yes Vegeta?"

"Shut up."

"Wow Wow Wow subte wa buatsui Muscle! Omae no karada no sono oku. Nagareteiru no sa ai sae yuujou sae! Sakebi kaese Hustle Muscle! Omae no se ni kakaru kitai ni…kinnikuman nisei yo jidai wa Get You!" (6)"Okay, I'm pretty sure all of us together can take them down." Trunks said, cracking his knuckles. His face turned blue."That hurt, didn't it?" Marron asked."More than you'll ever know." _Back to the present…_ "I think we get the point now Trunks." Yamcha said, holding in the laughter."But they even sang Digimon for the love of God!!" Trunks said, angrily shaking his fist. 

"I really liked yesterday's one though." Goten said.

_Flashback to day nine…_

"NO-TEN P-KAN Sora wa harete. IPPAI OPPAI Boku genki! Toraburu to asobe yancha booi. We gotta power! Um…lalalalalalala…Ze-ed!" (7)

_Present…_

"It was weird how they forgot the words like that." Goten said.

"Okay, you have all been doing well with your training thus far. So, we're going to run a little simulation." Gohan said, smirking a little.

"Yeah, I'm a little afraid now. Gohan's actually smirking." Trunks said, his face turning visibly blue.

"Everyone into the back garden please."

"Um, Gohan? You're gonna have to be a bit more specific as to where." CJ said.

"Yeah, this place is huge." Andrea added.

"Fine, follow me." Gohan sighed.

_On Tocopherat…_

"I am worried Elder, are the Earthlings going to be ready on time?" Inerl asked, as he looked through some computer files. Of course, with the advanced technology that the Tocopherans had, all he had to do was call the file he wanted and it would appear in front of him in the form of a holographic image.

"Do not worry so much, your son has placed much faith in them." The Elder said. Inerl nodded. "We can trust them."

"I just hope we can trust King Raben as well. He is still too trusting of Medilan."

"You cannot blame him, Medilan's father was a friend of the King." The Elder said. "Unfortunately, father and son are too much alike." A young man burst into The Elder's private study.

"Sir, the King's royal guards are here. They seem to have a warrant for your arrest!" He said.

"What!?" Inerl exclaimed. "This is outrageous! Do you think they…?"

"No, I don't think so. They probably want to set an example for anyone else thinking of following the example of Zophen." The Elder said. "Tell them they can come in."

"Sir, I cannot allow this." Inerl said, standing in front of him.

"You need to lead the Earthlings when they come here." The Elder said. "If I don't go, it will definitely raise too much suspicion."

"Yes sir." Inerl said, lowering his head. The Elder put his hand on Inerl's shoulder.

"Do not worry. I will be okay." The Elder said, as he left the room.

_Back at CC, in the garden…_

"Okay, now can you explain what you meant by simulation?" Goten asked.

"You're going to fight an opponent that I choose for you, in order to see if your training has paid off." Gohan said. "It will also give the more powerful fighters a chance to be able to fight against Tocopheran techniques."

"It's still not fair that we couldn't learn those new techniques." Goku said, pouting sadly.

"I'm fighting against Kakarrot." Vegeta declared.

"No Vegeta, you've both been training the same technique. There would be no point." Gohan explained.

"Of course there would be a point. I'd show Kakarrot that I am the better fighter."

"Again with the…! (sigh) Look, you will be fighting against who I have chosen for you. Okay?" Gohan said, giving Vegeta a stare.

"I think Gohan starting to take after his mother." Yamcha commented, as he and Krillin snickered.

"Damn straight!" Chi-Chi said, folding her arms and nodding to show her approval. "My son is not going to let anyone push him around."

"Okay, Trunks will be sparring against Krillin." Gohan said.

"Do you think this is punishment for my crankiness all this time?" Trunks asked.

"Hell yeah." Goten replied, smiling.

"Goten will be paired with Tien-san." Gohan said.

"AAAH!??!" Goten cried. He rushed over to his older brother and kneeled in front of him, both hands clasped together. "Gohan! Brother! Onii-chan!!"

"Goten…"

"C'mon, that's not fair! I'm only half a man now!"

"With that display, it's not hard to see why." CJ said. Goten stuck his tongue out and then turned back to his brother.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeease!" Goten whined.

"No."

"You are such a buttmunch." Goten pouted.

"Tousan." Gohan said.

"Son." Goku replied. Gohan sighed.

"You will be fighting against David."

"Okay!" Goku said, stretching.

"Not right now!"

"Oh."

"I'm feeling a little nervous." David said. "Isn't your Dad like…?"

"Don't worry, all his power has been drained." Gohan said.

"But…!"

"Don't worry David!" Gohan said. "Nick, you'll be fighting Piccolo."

"Hai!" Nicholas said saluting.

"Uubu against Andrea."

"Um, Gohan-san?" Uubu said, ushering Gohan away from everyone else.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to fight a lady! It's embarrassing. What if I accidentally touch…?"

"It's fine Uubu, you probably won't get the chance to." Gohan said, walking back to the group.

"Nuh?" Uubu said, titling his head sideways in a confused manner.

"Finally, Yamcha will be fighting Natalie." Gohan said.

"HUH?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Okay, Gohan." Nicholas said, walking towards Gohan. "There is no way my wife, the mother of my children, and the love of my life is going to fight a trained martial artist."

"Heh, it's been a long time since someone's been wary of fighting me." Yamcha chuckled.

"I wouldn't say that too candidly if I were you." Krillin said. Yamcha sweat-dropped.

"I'd have to agree with Nick. It's gonna be no challenge for Yamcha!" Natalie pointed out. "What am I gonna do? Think something bad at him?"

"Precisely." Gohan said.

"Oh you have gone and lost your mind!" Nicholas said. "She is not fighting him!"

"Nick…"

"No Gohan! My dad went to the Tenkaichi Budokai every time it was on Gohan! And he said that your dad and everyone from the Kame-sennin school of martial arts were like Chojins!" Nicholas said. (8)

"His dad? Boy, do I feel old." Krillin sighed.

"Pheh." Vegeta snorted.

"It's nothing to laugh at Vegeta-san." Nicholas said. "My dad said that after you guys fought, suddenly everyone and his dog wanted to become fighters! And everyone was paying their college tuition to go and see the tournament. There was even a song about you guys! Some guy released it and it was in the charts for two years! "

"What?!" The Z-senshi cried.

"It's true." David said. "My parents went too. They met there actually."

"So did mine." Nicholas said.

"So did mine." CJ said. Everyone turned to look at her. "My parents are old, I'm the youngest of 11."

"Ah…"

"There was a song!" Goku said. "Wow, I can't believe we were that famous…"

"You were." Nicholas said. "And going back to my original outburst, my wife's not fighting him dammit."

"Nick, it's just sparring." Natalie sighed.

"No!"

"Honey…"

"NO!"

"Will you stop it?!" Natalie said hitting over the head with a rolled up magazine.

"Itai…" Nicholas said, rolling around on the floor. "Well, I guess you'll be fine." Natalie smiled triumphantly.

"Kakarrot's brat. You forgot me." Vegeta said, annoyed.

"No I didn't." Gohan smirked. Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"So, I'm fighting you?" Vegeta asked. Gohan nodded. "How boring."

"Right. Let's get to it!" Gohan said.

_Downtown Tokyo, the channel 6 newsroom…_

"Hey! Hey boss lady! Come check out what I found!" Larry, the cameraman said. Ashley (Yes, folks as in Bennington. As in the one that likes Gohan and hates Videl) walked over to him and looked on the monitor.

"OH MY GOD!" Ashley yelled. "Is that…?"

"Yup!"

"And she actually…?!"

"Yep."

"How long until we air?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know if we can publish this! I mean, she's the champion of the world's daughter…"

"And just like everyone else she has to follow the law."

"There will be a big backlash."

"Controversy creates interest. First thing you learn about journalism."

"Yeah, like you studied journalism. You only got this job cos you have no morals and you schtuped the boss."

"That's ri-ight!" Ashley said in a sing-song voice. "When we air, that's gonna be our top story! Ha! Let's see Mrs Son Gohan work her way out of this one!"

_Back at CC…_

"I can't believe Krillin beat Trunks so easily." Drake said, as he and Claudia sat down outside. Most of the sparring matches had ended in draws, as Gohan stopped the fighting when he realised there was no point in continuing. The only matches that didn't end in draws were Krillin vs. Trunks and Gohan vs. Vegeta. Gohan lost to Vegeta, just so that he wouldn't kill himself trying to beat Gohan for real.

"Well, it's like your dad said, well trained martial artist." Claudia replied. "Plus, Trunks doesn't know how to use those new powers properly."

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Trunks cried.

"Well, then how was it? Cos that's what we all saw." CJ added.

"Other than that…" Gohan said, stopping the inevitable fight. "Everyone did well. I think we're ready."

"Really?" Nicholas asked. "Cos I've got to say…"

"If you're going to do the whole I'm-Nervous-And-Gonna-Pass-It-Off-As-Concern-For-Others bit, don't try." Gohan said.

"Ara…you know me so well." Nicholas said, blushing.

"Okay, Bulma-san, prep the ship with everything we will need." Gohan said.

"I think the boy's gone and lost all the manners he had." Bulma said, as she walked off.

"Who's going with you Gohan?" Piccolo asked.

"We need two teams, one to go with me and one to stay here. No doubt that when they find us alive…" Gohan said.

"You didn't really answer my question." Piccolo said.

"My apologies, but we need to be undetected when we get there and…"

"Anyone that would look out of the ordinary needs to stay here." Piccolo said. "Perfect."

"Which means going with me, apart from the exiles' descendants…"

"Nice!" All concerned said.

"Are," Gohan said, ignoring them. "Yamcha, Goten, Drake, Uubu and Pan."

"I don't get to go!" Trunks cried. No one was really sure if he was asking out of disbelief or if he was stating it out of joy.

"I do need the rest of you here." Gohan said. "If I take too many people…"

"We know Gohan, we're just teasing you." Krillin said.

"Yeah, the little tyke that was about knee high five years ago is now leading all of us just like his dad used to." Yamcha smiled.

"They talk as if I died again…" Goku sighed wistfully to himself. Gohan blushed in embarrassment.

"Five years ago? Is the rate of growth really that quick on this planet?" Zophen asked.

"It's just a figure of speech Zophen." Claudia said.

"It's beautiful! Like when Hot Rod became Rodimus Prime in the Transformers Movie." Nicholas said, wiping away a tear.

"Nick, don't. I'm getting flashbacks of Optimus…" David bit his lip to stop the tears from coming. (9)

"Um, Gohan?" Natalie started to ask.

"Before you ask, yes I have thought this through. Bulma-san is trained enough to cover any medical emergencies that may happen and if anything too bad happens there's still hospitals and normal doctors." Gohan said.

"Actually I was going to ask when we're going." Natalie said. "Cos we're gonna have to sort out the kids."

"Make sure they know where we're going." Andrea added.

"And why."

"That we'll be back."

"Introduce them to everyone so they don't feel scared when we're gone."

"Leave a note of allergies and the like."

"Okay!" Gohan said, signalling the two women to stop. "Isn't that a bit excessive?"

"We're leaving our children Gohan, nothing is too excessive." Andrea said.

"Don't mind them, they're used to leaving the kids with me." Nicholas said.

"Ah, well that explains everything." Gohan said. Both men sweat-dropped. "To answer your question, we are leaving tomorrow evening. So that everyone can have time to do whatever."

"Don't you dare raise your eyebrows like that Son Goten." CJ whispered. Goten almost fell over in shock.

"How did you…?"

"I know you a lot better than you think." CJ said.

"Hey Gohan, I think Trunks should come with us." Yamcha said. "I mean, if its cos of the purple hair, we can dye it. We may need Gotenks."

"Gotenks?!" A chorus of voices asked.

"Trunks and Goten's form when they fuse." Gohan said.

"That is so interesting!" Remy said, as she looked at Marron and CJ and then burst out laughing. Everyone sweat-dropped.

"I dunno Yamcha, Gotenks is a little unstable." Gohan said.

"But he's super powerful. Not to mention he thinks on his feet." Goku added.

"Yeah bro, don't knock Gotenks!" Goten said.

"Besides, we were kids the last time we tried that! We've grown up a lot since." Trunks said.

"Says the guy that just about has a heart attack when a member of the female gender comes within two feet of him." CJ stated. Goten started to snicker.

"Shut up!" Trunks yelled.

"Okay, we leave tomorrow night." Gohan said. A cell phone started to ring.

"Is that the Sailor Moon theme song Remy?" Goten asked, smiling. She pinched the back of his neck. "Ow!"

"Don't start, you'll definitely want me in your corner later." Remy said, answering her phone and leaving Goten very confused. "Hello?"

_"Hi there gorgeous."_

"Lil Tak!" Remy said. "Let me guess, since you're calling so early, Juliana's at work?"

_"Hehe, you know how jealous she gets when I talk to you. How have you been?"_

"Okay, I'm the middle of an intergalactic crisis right now."

_"Yeah, I saw the news. That's why I'm calling. Is everyone okay? I got a little worried when no one was answering their phone."_

"Well everyone's been a little preoccupied but they're okay." Remy said. "What's wrong?"

_"Have you seen the Channel 6 news? Goten's sister-in-law is on there looking very evil and possessed."_

"Uh oh…how evil and possessed?" Remy asked. Gohan looked at her very concerned.

_"Evil as The Joker and as possessed as Dark Phoenix."(10)_

"Holy moly." Remy said, as she ran past everyone and switched the news on.

"Oh my God, is that Videl?" Goku asked. Everyone turned to see that it was. The transmission message that Videl had sent them earlier was now on the national morning news.

"Oh no…" Gohan felt his heart sinking.

"This is really bad. Now everyone's gonna think she's evil!" Goten said.

"It's worse than that! With what she said, she's gonna be charged with treason to this planet!" Andrea said.

"Can they do that?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Unfortunately yes." Andrea replied.

_"Don't I get a good comic book reference compliment from ya?"_

"Sorry, it's kinda shocking given what's happened recently." Remy said, moving away from the TV. "And you can do totally better. A novice that watches TV could've made those references Takeshi."

_"Fine, I shall stop trying to please you."_

"Yep, you should be doing that for your wife."

_"You know I'm just messing around."_

"Yeah, but she doesn't."

_"Will you need my help?"_

"No thanks, you're safer where you are." Remy said. "OOH, CJ and Goten got together!"

_"Excuse the phrase but SHUT! UP!" _

"I KNOW!!"

"I hardly think our relationship is that exciting Remy." CJ said.

"Really? Cos it just made Tak say SHUT! UP!" Remy smirked.

"That is major." Trunks said. The couple blushed in embarrassment.

"Isn't that Ashley Bennington?" David asked.

"Yes." Gohan said curtly.

"Man, you can hardly tell. She's had so much work done." Nicholas said, tilting his head to the side. "You know, like this, she kinda looks like the outline of Japan." David and Andrea started to tilt their heads as well.

"Yeah…"

_The next evening, just before take off…_

"I'm gonna miss you." CJ said. Her and Goten were outside on the balcony. Goten smiled.

"Don't worry." Goten said. "I'll be fine."

"Oh I know that. Cos if you don't come back fine, you'll get a lot worse from me Spikes."

"I think it's about time you started calling me Goten, don't you?" Goten asked. CJ blushed.

"But then, I'd be calling you what everyone else calls you. I like to have my own names for people." CJ said, looking down.

"Don't be embarrassed, I think it's cute." Goten smiled.

"I don't like cute." CJ replied. Goten blinked.

"But I think you are." Goten said.

"And if you want to keep me happy, you will keep that to yourself."

"This whole tough girl bravado doesn't fool me you know."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes you do." Goten said. "You don't have to act that way around me. I love you for who you are."

"…"

"What?"

"You love me?"

"Yeah, didn't you know that?"

"No."

"Oops."

"Don't say oops."

"I have to. I wanted to tell you in a special way, not like this. Cos then you'll think I'm saying it because I might die but that isn't why I'm saying it…" Goten said. He looked at CJ and she was smiling. "What?" She stood closer to him.

"I called you Spikes, because your hair was spiky. Not to tease you. Just because I liked your spiky hair. I knew that if I ever saw anyone else with spiky hair I would forever be reminded of you. It's pretty silly…"

"CJ…"

"Goten…" She said, smoothing her hand over his face. "I do love you. So much." He smiled and then bent down to kiss her.

_Inside…_

"Oy." Remy said, sitting down in the living room. "Everyone's saying their goodbyes and all that keeps running through my head is 'couples, couples everywhere and not a guy for me'." (11)

"I know how you feel." Gohan said. Remy fell out of her chair in shock.

"Gohan-san!" She exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were here!"

"It's okay."

"Talk about foot in mouth syndrome." Remy muttered to herself.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead." She said, feeling very nervous. She didn't know Gohan too well but Trunks and Goten had always spoken about him with great respect…when they weren't freaking out over something he had told them.

"Why did you help us so willingly?" Gohan said. "You hardly know us."

"I know Trunks and Goten. They're my best friends."

"I know that. But you let us into your home."

"I like to have faith in people Gohan-san." Remy said. "Trunks and Goten, they've always looked out for me. They're genuine good people, and to find that…it's rare." Bulma walked in.

"Gohan, Zophen's father is on the vid-screen." Bulma said. Gohan got up and went to the communication room.

"Hello sir, what can we do for you?" Gohan asked.

"It's more what I can do for you." Inerl said. "The Elder has been put under royal arrest because of his involvement in this affair."

"That's terrible."

"Yes, which means we are running out of time." Inerl said. "I need to transport you here."

"You can do that."

"I'm more of what you would call a sorcerer." Inerl said. "There's also something I need to do to…"

"Whatever you need." Gohan said. "I'll go and gather everyone." He did so in record flat time.

"I can't believe we're being transported over galaxies." Nicholas said. He felt a hand hold his.

"Don't worry kid, you'll be fine." Natalie said. He smiled.

"You guys are so weird." Drake said.

"I'd worry if I were you, it's probably genetic." Pan said.

"Shut up Pan-chan."

"Everyone ready?" Inerl said.

"Yeah!"

"Okay." Inerl said, as he closed his eyes to concentrate.

"Hey, they're gone!" Goku exclaimed.

_On Tocopherat…_

"Are we here already?" Goten asked.

"Looks like it." Yamcha replied. "Everyone…okay?" Yamcha looked shocked.

"What? Stop looking like that! You're freaking me out!" Goten exclaimed. Yamcha could do nothing except point behind Goten. He looked behind him and yelled in shock.

"Can someone explain to me why I'm suddenly seventeen again?" Andrea said. She looked around and saw that Gohan, David, Natalie and Nicholas had also been turned into seventeen-year-olds.

"Okay, whose big idea was this?" David asked.

"Mine." Inerl said. "I asked Gohan, he said whatever I needed was okay."

"What did I say was okay?" Gohan asked, sounding very nervous.

"It was at this age that you were at your most versatile, most powerful and least emotional. This makes it easier for you to defeat Medilan and get your wife back." Inerl replied.

"Ah…" Everyone said.

"It can't be all bad." Nicholas said.

"Woah, Dad you sound weird." Drake said.

"Well I am technically seventeen now." Nicholas said. "I don't miss my lack of stubble."

"Mum, you're so short!" Drake said.

"I grew in the last year of college, so sue me!" Natalie snapped. "I forgot how short I actually was." She looked over at Andre and then back at herself. "I also forgot how underdeveloped I was." She sighed.

"Goten, how come we never crushed on her." Trunks said, indicating Andrea.

"All thoughts are escaping me right now." Goten replied.

"No, no, no!" David said, standing in front of Andrea. "My wife dammit!"

"Less emotional huh?" Yamcha asked. Inerl sweat-dropped.

To Be Continued…

School has started up again but I promise to try and update as soon as I can!!

(1) This is the ending song to the Dragon Half anime (only two episodes long, sadly). The song is just random lyrics made to fit Beethoven music. And the lyrics are:

Not the tomato! It's mine! I'll give you my octopus I hate the way it looks.

Pappara funi-funi pappara hoe-hoe Pappara funi-funi eggs!

Pappara funi-funi pappara hoe-hoe If I don't boil them, they're still raw eggs.

Pappara funi-funi pappara hoe-hoe Pappara funi-funi beer!

Pappara funi-funi pappara hoe-hoe, If I don't boil it, it's still a draft beer.

(2) This is the main theme to the anime Excel Saga, and the translation is…

This is not love! Love is not this! I love, but I am not loved.

By no means is this love! Derriere isn't love! I love, but I do not seek love out.

(3) This is also a reference to Excel Saga. One of the three idiots, Watanabe, has a thing for Agent Hyatt. Her alias outside of the ideological organisation of ACROSS is Miss Ayasugi. Depending on what version you watch (English or Japanese), he calls her Ayasugi-san or Miss Ayasugi.

(4) This is, as you should all hopefully know, the ending theme of Dragonball Z up until the Buu saga called Zenkai Power. It's a really cute song!

(5) This is the first opening theme to the anime Rurouni Kenshin. The translation is:

Memories are always beautiful,But with only that you can't live.Tonight should be a really sad night,But why? Actually I can't remember his smiling face.I can't remember. 

(6) These are the lyrics to the Kinnikuman Second Generation (Or Ultimate Muscle in the USA) in Japanese. Unfortunately, I can't find the translation but I really like this song and thought it'd be good to put in ()

(7) It's We Gotta Power. You guys should know this :P If not, it's Dragonball Z's second theme tune.

(8) Chojin is the Japanese word for Super-being, or superhero (methinks!)

(9) Y'all remember what happened to Optimus right? Well he bit it like 10 minutes into the movie. SHOCK! :(

(10) The Joker is one of Batman's main nemesis's. Dark Phoenix is Jean's alter ego…this one's pretty complicated so let's leave it at that.

(11) The original line that Remy is parodying is "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink" which is from the story, um, to be honest I can't remember! I think it's called the Ancient Sub-Mariner or something. It had an albatross in it. If anyone knows, feel free to correct my stupidity please!


	15. The Man From STANEX or But Funny’s More ...

**Rifts and Changes**

**Chapter Fifteen: The Man From STANEX or But Funny's More Important!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their templates are people I know

A/N: Okay. So I caved. And this new flavour of Fanta has pretty much given me a much needed buzz. The Fanta is back people! :-D I know I've been taking the mickey with these cliffhangers but you know what. Blame comics!! Every single frickin one ends with a cliffhanger! Fantastic Four, (OMG! THE HERALD!) Spidey, and not to mention this new Identity Crisis mini series. The suspense on that one had me going bonkers!

_On Tocopherat…_

"I am honestly failing to see how this is a good idea Mr Inerl." Gohan said.

"All things happen for a reason Gohan. You must simply trust that this will work out for the best." Inerl replied.

"Uh…huh." Yamcha said. "Okay, Gohan. What's the plan?"

"Forgive me, I'll need about ten minutes to draw up a diagram. Then I shall be able to explain the plan in full detail." Gohan replied. "Mr Inerl, do you have any paper or pencils?"

"I'm sure we can find an equivalent." Inerl said as he led Gohan away.

"What the heck was that?" Trunks asked.

"That was Gohan, age 17." Nicholas repled. "Pre-self confidence."

"Pre-maturity." Natalie added.

"Pre-Videl…so to speak." David snickered. Andrea slapped him upside the head. "Ow!"

_Elsewhere on Tocopherat…_

"We're going to meet the King now." Medilan said, addressing Mara. "Please, be on your best behaviour. He is…well, not the sanest of people."

"Uh huh." Mara said, looking uninterested.

"Don't worry sir, she'll be fine." Dimethic said, smiling knowingly. They entered the castle and proceeded to the King's main hall. They walked down a very long hallway. The floor was covered with a red carpet, with gold edges. Mara chuckled to herself, saying how even on this planet, the royals were all the same. On the walls of the corridor, were pictures of all the previous monarchs. Only one caught Mara's eye, as it looked out of place. It was of the previous King, but instead of the portrait being only of him, his wife and two children were also there. Mara couldn't help but think of her own family. Or rather, Videl's family.

_There's no use of thinking about them now, they're dead._ Was all Mara could think. They finally arrived at the door of the King's main hall. Two guards were there, wearing similar uniforms as Dimethic and the rest of Medilan's crew.

"The military protects the King?" Mara asked. Dimethic nodded.

"The King is feeling uneasy these days, what with that legend nonsense and all." Dimethic replied.

"Nonsense, right." Mara said. They followed the guards into the hall.

"Presenting Medilan Sterylin and his two officers." The Guard said.

"Officers?!" Mara hissed. Dimethic gave her a look that screamed 'SHUT UP!'

"Medilan, it is very good to see you my son." King Raben said. Mara noticed that the King was a lot older than she was expecting him to be. Tocopherans were known to age very slowly in looks, similar to Saiyans, however their life spans were more like humans. King Raben looked over to Mara and suddenly looked very nervous. "HOW…DARE YOU!" Before anyone could register what was happening, the King was strangling Mara telepathically. She began to choke.

"Your Majesty!" Medilan cried.

"I trusted you Medilan! I trusted you, and you bring this Decolain into my court!" The King strengthened his hold on her. Her face was beginning to turn blue.

"Sir, I beg of you! Let her go!" Medilan said. "She is on our side! She is the one who killed the Decolains! She destroyed the Earth!"

"You expect me to believe that?!"

"I am asking you to believe me! I have no reason to lie to you!" Medilan said. The King paused a while and then let Mara fall to the ground. She began to cough violently. Dimethic went to her aid.

"Fine." The King said. "I hope this trust I am placing in you doesn't cause me regret." The King said. He left with several guards following him.

"That did not go as well as I'd hoped." Medilan said.

"You don't say!" Mara hissed.

_Back on Earth, Satan City…_

"Come on! You've got to get out here some time!" A random reporter yelled. There were literally hundreds of media personnel on Mr Satan's front lawn. The man himself was hiding in his TV room. Hoping that they would all go away. Of course, that was not going to happen in this lifetime but he always managed to have some delusional form of hope. His phone rang for the umpteenth time that day.

"I wish they'd just leave me alone! Instead of being out there, trying to find out what's happened to my daughter, I'm stuck in here hiding from the stupid media!" Mr Satan cried. The answering machine beeped.

_"Mr Satan, this is the STANEX corporation calling for the fifth time today. We need to talk to concerning your daughter's whereabouts. Please call us back as soon as you get this message. Thank you."_ Beeeeeeeeeeeeep.

"STANEX? I wonder who they are…"

_On Tocopherat…_

"Okay! I have the plan!" Gohan said, returning with a very big piece of paper. Everyone sweat-dropped as Gohan laid it out on the table. It was a very detailed drawing, almost like it was photographed. "Thanks to Mr Inerl, I have been able to draw out the layout of the King's castle."

"We're going to attack the King's castle first?" Trunks asked.

"Trunks, please, it's rude to interrupt." Gohan said curtly. Trunks sweat-dropped in confusion. "Now as you can see from the diagram, I have split us up into two teams. Team One will enter from the top of the castle, as this is where most of the guards are. Team Two will make a more stealthy entrance in the back, through one of these windows." Gohan said, pointing to each diagram. "Trunks, will the communication machines work on this planet?"

"Hold on, lemme check." Trunks said, as he fiddled with the ear piece. "Brrrring, brrrring!"

"Uh, hai? Moshi Moshi?" Goten said. Everyone around him sweat-dropped.

"Can you hear me?" Trunks said.

"Yes…but who are you?"

"It's Trunks you idiot!"

"Woah…how'd you get inside my head?"

"Believe me, there's enough room for two more people in there."

"…What's THAT supposed to mean!?"

"Enough you two. I get the picture." Gohan sighed. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, seeing as we're being named Team One and Team Two, congrats on the originality by the by, do we get codenames?" David asked.

"Um, sure." Gohan said.

"We're having codenames?!" Everyone asked, some excited, some shocked and one laughing (Nicholas).

"It makes sense. We can't exactly run around spouting off our own names. If Videl or one of those guys hears 'Andie, look out!' she's gonna know it's us." Gohan replied.

"Dude, why Andie? Why can't I be in danger?" Nicholas asked.

"Why would I be in danger in the first place?" Andrea asked.

"You should be more careful! You can't afford to get caught." Inerl said. Gohan stared at the three of them in disbelief.

"It was just an example!" Gohan said.

"Ohhh."

"I put dibs on the codename 'Vash the Stampede'." David said. (1)

"No fair!" Many of the guys protested.

"Come on, I'm the most qualified." David said. "I'm blonde."

"We can be too!" Trunks and Goten protested.

"Not anymore!"

"Oh yeah…crap."

"Okay, David has the dibs or whatever." Gohan said. "Codenames please, for the purpose of central command."

"Anyone else feel like they're in an SNL skit?" Goten asked. Nicholas, Trunks, David and Natalie raised their hands. "Good, not just me then."

"Tall Bishi, reporting for duty sir." Nicholas said, as he saluted. Gohan rolled his eyes. (2)

"Puppeteer sir." Andrea said. Zophen looked uncomfortable as Gohan waited for him to say his codename.

"Can I not just use my own name sir? I feel embarrassed."

"Sorry Zophen, no dice."

"Very well, then I choose the name Max Power." Zophen said. Drake burst out laughing.

"That's the name of an English mag for guys!" Drake said.

"That's where I got the name. I saw some in Ms Bulma's bathroom." Zophen said. All eyes turned to Trunks.

"Hey! I'm married!" Trunks protested.

"And what?" Goten said, enjoying every minute of Trunks' embarrassment.

"Fine, then a simple Z will suffice, I suppose." Zophen said, looking very embarrassed.

"Mental note, Zophen suddenly kicks in with standardised Japanese when he's embarrassed." Andrea said. Gohan moved down the line.

"Cutie Pie!" Goten grinned.

"Hotspot." Drake said.

"Uh uh son, copyright infringement." Nicholas said, shifting his eyes.

"But…"

"Change it!"

"Fine! Inferno." Drake said, looking very annoyed.

"Don't worry honey, he just has bad memories of that name." Natalie said, sweat-dropping. "Shorty. And if anyone makes any jokes, you'll eat my fist."

"Hai!"

"But why?" Gohan asked. Everyone turned blue in fright.

"Well for Nick's sake mostly. If I had chosen the one I wanted, he would've started crying."

"Which was?"

"Mrs Seth Cohen." Natalie said, as she suddenly went mushy. (3)

"Gohan!!" Nicholas said, looking murderously at Gohan.

"Fine, Shorty it is. Next!" Gohan said nervously.

"Mowhawk." Uubu said. Gohan looked confused. "It's what my friends back home call me."

"Are you sure you know why?" Gohan asked. Uubu then looked more confused than Gohan did.

"I wonder which one of them will break and start crying first." David said.

"I think I'll move on." Gohan said.

"Awww!" David said.

"I don't think I've ever been so out of the loop in my life." Gohan said, choosing to ignore what was going on.

"Not so Gohan! You were in the dark about your stalkers for years!" David pointed out.

"You're not helping Dave." Nicholas said, as he saw both Trunks and Gohan shudder involuntarily.

"Vash! I'm Vash the Stampede!" David insisted. "Gohan! Gohan! Nicky isn't playing by the rules!"

"Nicky?" Many voices asked in amusement.

"Baka! I can't believe you told on me!" Nicholas said, punching David in the arm.

"Owww! Quit it!" David cried as he kicked Nicholas in the shin.

"Why you little…!" Nicholas said as he flicked David in the head. After a beat, they both locked in combat.

"EVERYBODY SHUT THE HELL UP!!" Gohan yelled. Everyone blinked in surprise.

"Geez Gohan, relax." Nicholas said.

"Yeah, we were just playing." David added.

"Well this is no time to play!" Gohan said, hiding the fact that he was blushing. "Now, who's left?"

"Me Daddy." Pan said.

"How about Pan-chan?" Drake said.

"Shut up Drake!"

"Geez! Okay, P-chan!" (4)

"P-chan? He wasn't that the name of the pig on…" Goten said.

"Ssshh." Trunks shushed him.

"But it was! I know I'm right! I still can't believe she never realised…"

"Sshh."

"I am not using a codename that's named after a pig." Pan cried angrily.

"But the pig was so cute! And very spunky. Kinda like you!" Goten grinned.

"You never know when to shut up do you." Trunks said, pretty much answering his own question.

"Poor Ryoga. I always liked him." Andrea said whistfully.

"I know! She can be osage-no-onna!" Goten said. Pan was currently wearing her hair in a pig-tail. (5)

"Fine!" Pan said, very annoyed.

"Yamcha-san?" Gohan said.

"No."

"…I beg your pardon?"

"I don't want one."

"But…"

"I am far too old to be doing stuff like this Gohan."

"But…"

"Unless there is dire need for it, no way." Yamcha said firmly.

"But…"

"I'll tell your mother!"

"Okay, sorry!" Gohan said, bowing humbly.

"Amazing…" Gohan's friends said in awe.

"Everyone, study this map as close as possible. We leave in an hour." Gohan said, leaving.

"Gohan-kun?" Nicholas said in a very high pitched voice.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you going?" Gohan stopped in his tracks and refused to turn around. It didn't matter anyway, because everyone could see his ears had turned red out of embarrassment.

"This is usually the part where the leader retreats into his office while his troops prepare for battle." Gohan said, very quietly.

"Gohan-kun?" Nicholas said, in the same voice. "We're not playing war!"

"I know that!" Gohan said, turning his around very menacingly.

"You know, I understand your brother so much better now." Trunks said, as Goten nodded in agreement.

_A little while later…_

"Gohan? Where on Earth did you get these suits?" Nicholas asked.

"These are battle suits that Bulma-san made for us." Gohan said. The whole team was standing there in Saiyan body uniform. (Like the ones Vegeta wears)

"Well I like 'em!" Nicholas grinned.

"Well I don't." Natalie said, annoyed.

"Why? I think you look great."

"You would." Natalie was unfortunately standing next to Andrea. "There's no way I'm wearing this."

"But…" Gohan started to say.

"No. Way." Natalie said. "I only have a little self-esteem Gohan, and standing next to Andie in a body tight suit is not increasing it. No offence."

"None taken." Andrea replied. Natalie left to go change.

"But you didn't bring anything else to wear!" Gohan said.

"Oh yes I did!" Natalie said, as she returned. She was wearing blue jeans, a wife-beater and a loose hooded jacket.

"Okay, I like this one much better!" Nicholas grinned.

"Oy…" Gohan sighed.

_Back on Earth…_

"I feel kind of guilty." Remy said.

"You shouldn't. This is your house." CJ replied.

"But we just left everyone there with all those kids."

"So? They're not our kids."

"How can you be this way?"

"Years and years of practice." CJ replied. Remy looked at her in shock. "Besides, Vegeta's driving me crazy. I know he's Trunks' dad but if that man calls me an annoying onna one more time I will have to hurt him severely."

"Goten's doomed…" Remy muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Remy said. **_BRRRING BRRRING!_** "Oh the phone! I'll get it! Hello?"

"Remy? It's Mrs Briefs. Can you and CJ come over here? We've got a bit of a problem. There's a man here, he says he's from a company called STANEX and he wants to speak with CJ." Bulma said.

"That's weird, how does he know CJ?"

"How does who know me?" CJ asked.

"Okay…we'll be right over." Remy said.

"Where are we going?" CJ asked, folding her arms. Remy sighed.

"I hate to do this." Remy said. She grabbed CJ's ear and started to drag her out of the door.

"OWWW! RAMONA, YOU LET GO OF ME!!" CJ yelled.

"You must listen to your elders." Remy said. "There's someone who wants to see you."

"Fine, I'll go. Just let go of my ear!"

"No. I'm not that stupid!"

_At the Capsule Corp…_

"I told you, we don't know where Videl is!" Chi-Chi said.

"I find that hard to believe. You are her family after all." The STANEX man said. He was dressed in a suit, but he was wearing dark glasses and a hat. Chi-Chi was finding it very hard to take him seriously, because several of the smaller children had decided it would be funny if they hung off his arms, legs and neck. "Can we do something about these kids please?"

"They seem to like you Mr Sagara." Chi-Chi said, trying not to laugh.

"Where is Miss Fujitaka?" Mr Sagara asked.

"She's on her way." Bulma said. "How did you know she was here?"

"It's my business to know." Mr Sagara replied. His face started to turn blue. "Seriously, I think this little one is crushing my windpipe."

"Kids, get down please." Goku said. He was currently lying down on the couch, reading a manga. They all, miraculously, obeyed. Everyone stared at Goku in shock but he just kept reading his manga. "Poor chiyo-chan!" (6)

"Thank you." Mr Sagara said, clearing his throat.

"What does CJ have to do with Videl's disappearance anyway?" Chi-Chi asked.

"I am fully aware that she is dating your youngest boy Mrs Son."

"How in the hell…?"

"I know her personally." Mr Sagara said. Chi-Chi gave him a dirty look. "Oh please, not like that! Ew!"

"ITAI!" A voice was heard yelling from outside.

"That would be her right now, if I'm not mistaken." Mr Sagara smirked. Remy and CJ burst through the doors.

"Okay, okay, okay, we're here! NOW LET GO!" CJ yelled. Remy did so. "I'd better not be bleeding."

"Well if you weren't so friggin stubborn!" Remy said, as she sighed. "Okay, so where's this suit that wants to see CJ?"

"I'm the suit." Mr Sagara said, looking slightly mystified.

"Right, what do you want with her?" Remy asked, folding her arms.

"I can speak for myself you know." CJ said, as she was promptly ignored.

"You must excuse me, but before I conduct any business, I always must introduce myself. Especially to someone as beautiful as yourself." Mr Sagara said, bowing humbly.

"Uh huh…what are you selling?" Remy asked, raising an eyebrow. Mr Sagara smirked slightly.

"A quick wit as well? My, you are full of surprises." Mr Sagara said.

"Don't talk like you're so familiar with me bub." Remy said.

"Um, there's something you should know…" CJ tried to say, but she was interrupted.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mr Sagara." Mr Sagara said, removing his hat and lowering his dark glasses. Remy was suddenly as mystified as he had been.

"Uh…hi." Remy said, as she smiled. _His eyes are gorgeous! Why would he hide them with those horrible glasses?!_

"Hi." Mr Sagara smiled. _She's beautiful! She looks familiar though._

"You shouldn't wear such dark glasses!" Remy said, then blushing. _What the hell?! Brain, you're not helping me in front of the cutie!_

"I kind of need them to see." Mr Sagara said, chuckling at her. "The shade is my choice. I think it gives me an air of mystery. What do you think?"

"Um, well, I, hehehe…" Remy started to blush even more.

"Um, can I ask why you're turning into a bumbling idiot?" CJ asked.

"It's a flaw! When I'm near a cute guy, I say the first thing that pops to mind." Remy whispered back.

"And you said that because?"

"His eyes are gorgeous!"

"Don't most people grow out of all this?"

"I'm not most people."

"That's true in more ways than one."

"Hey, I wasn't the tomboy remember? I just wasn't the boy crazy airhead either."

"For your safety, I had better be the former."

"Oy, another romance?!" Claudia said, annoyed. "You'd think with all the googly eyes going on around here we were in a soap opera or something."

"Yeah!" Daniel and Adrian agreed.

"I'm agreeing with the twins? I've hit an all time low." Claudia said.

"I have no idea what's going on!" Maria said, frustrated.

"Welcome to my world." Cory said.

"CJ, you never told me you had such a beautiful friend." Mr Sagara said.

"She's your friend too." CJ said, exasperatedly. Remy and Mr Sagara blinked.

"Come again?" Remy asked. CJ sighed.

"Knuckleheads!" CJ said, slapping them both upside the head. "Remy, this is Alex. Alex, this is Remy." (7)

"…You lie!" They both exclaimed.

"I do not." CJ said. "And if I were in a better mood, this would be very amusing for me. But I'm not. So, what the heck do STANEX have to do with Videl?"

"Ahem." Alex said, recomposing himself. "You know very well. We are a division of the government."

"Or so you think you are." CJ replied. "Alex, who are you kidding?! STANEX is the world's nosy neighbour."

"Hey! The world was threatened and we need to stop it from happening again!"

"The world will save itself the same way it has decades before you were born." CJ said.

"By whom?"

"By brave warriors, who don't need a thank you or a big fat cheque after they're done." CJ said rather coldly.

"It'd be much appreciated though." Krillin said, as the other warriors nodded in agreement. Alex looked insulted. CJ sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry but you know how I feel about your company." CJ said.

"My **father's **company. And you know my stance on it too." Alex said. "These changes have to happen slowly."

"Do you know what they're talking about?" Chi-Chi asked Remy.

"I can't believe that's Alex!! If I'm not careful, I'm gonna be the Babe to his Benz!" Remy said. "Ah, how I weep for myself."

"Why do my sons hang around with such strange people?" Chi-Chi asked no one in particular.

_Back on Tocopherat…_

"Okay, everybody have their communication channels turned on?" Gohan said through the ear piece.

"Yes Boss." Everyone replied.

"How come Gohan chose Boss as his nickname? It's so unoriginal, so uninspiring, so…" Nicholas sighed.

"The one you wanted Bishi?" Drake asked.

"Shut up!" Nicholas said. "You're grounded when we get back."

"So this is why you wanted codenames, for frequency reasons!" Zophen said.

"Sure." Gohan replied, his eyes shifting. On Team One were the powerhouses of the teams. With Gohan were Zophen, Pan, Uubu, Drake, Nicholas and Andie. Team Two consisted of Yamcha, Trunks, Goten, Natalie and David. "Okay, Drake is going to release fireballs into the air when we get up to the roof. That is Team Two's signal to start getting into the building. Yamcha-san?"

"Don't worry Boss, I memorised that map. We'll be fine." Yamcha said. "Just try not to die okay?"

"Thanks so much for the words of encouragement." Pan said, sweat-dropping.

"Pan, are you sure you're well enough to…?" Drake asked.

"Don't ask stupid questions Summers, I'm fine."

"Geez! Excuse me for living!" Drake huffed.

"Okay, let's go." Gohan said. Gohan, Pan and Uubu proceeded to raise their chi levels. Nicholas made two copies of himself, so to conserve some energy. Andie proceeded to telekinetically lift them all to the roof. A guard at his post noticed them outside.

"Intruders! Get them!" He yelled. There were at least 50 troops on the roof of the castle, divided up into ranks. The first rank started to fire blue lightning balls at them. Gohan quickly deflected them with some chi blasts. The second rank provided back up for the first as they started firing electric arrow bolts at them.

"Blue lightning balls, electric arrow bolts, I'm sensing a pattern here." Nicholas Prime said.

"We're almost there. When we land, get ready. The final rank has started to attack yet, so we don't know what they're going to throw at us. Please be careful, and watch each other okay?" Gohan said.

"Right!" Nicholas #3 said as he jumped out of Andrea's telekinetic bubble and onto the roof.

"Bishi!" Gohan yelled.

"I'm really sorry Gohan. I just thought it'd be helpful if one of my clones had the personality of Wolverine." Nicholas Prime said.

"NOT HELPFUL!" Gohan yelled in despair.

"Yeah dude, Samurai Jack would've been so much better." Nicholas #2 said.

"Ah…" Nicholas said sheepishly.

"We're here. Attack!" Gohan said.

_Meanwhile…_

"They are taking way too long." David said.

"Not everyone's a speedster like you." Trunks said.

"Even so."

"Don't worry, I'm sure they're okay." Goten said. David smiled.

"My, my, what a role reversal." Yamcha said. "Trunks used to be the more insightful one while Goten was the one who only realised the obvious. And that was on his best day."

"Hey!" Trunks and Goten exclaimed.

"I think Gohan's morning training regiment has gotten to him." David said.

"By 'him', who exactly do you mean?" Trunks asked demandingly.

"Gee, I wonder!" David replied sarcastically.

"You're awfully quiet." Yamcha said to Natalie.

"I'm worried too."

"They'll be fine."

"It's not that. I'm just wondering if it was wise to leave Gohan with Nicholas **and** Drake. They'll drive him insane." Natalie said. Everyone face-faulted.

"That's what you're worried about?!" Yamcha exclaimed.

"Well yeah! When we were seventeen, Gohan was always the shyest one out of all of us. He hardly tells anyone off, even when they deserve it." Natalie said. "And Nick knows how to push his buttons. Drake's the same; he gets it from his father after all."

"Come on, this is a serious battle. They wouldn't do that!" Yamcha said, sweat-dropping.

"Oh yes they would. I can bet you've they've already something to make him angry." Natalie said.

_As if on cue…_

"Hahahaa!!" Drake and his three fathers laughed loudly.

"Bishi! Inferno" Gohan yelled.

"Boss, it's funny!" Nicholas Prime replied back.

"It's not helping!" Gohan yelled. Nicholas #2 had decided it'd be funny to see what happened if Drake set the guards' behinds on fire. Of course, being soldiers with the strict orders not to leave their posts, it was rather (evilly) funny to see them burning while trying to fight of Gohan, Pan and Uubu. Zophen just stared in shock, occasionally beating off the random solider that rushed towards him. Andrea was busy stopping the soldiers from falling to the ground and dying.

"But funny's more important!" Nicholas #2 said. Gohan's left eyebrow twitched.

"That's not good." Pan said, as she grabbed Uubu and Zophen by their collars and hid behind Andrea's forcefield.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" Gohan yelled in anger and frustration. This caused a big chi blast to emit from his body and he ended up knocking all the remaining guards unconscious on the floor. Drake and the three Nicholas' all stood there shocked from the blast. Their hair was standing on end and their clothes were scorched marked.

"Woah…" They all uttered.

_Back to team two…_

"Was that the signal?" David asked.

"Nope, that was Gohan's chi signature." Yamcha said.

"Yep, definitely Nick's handy work." David said, nodding.

"How come you never stop him from driving my brother crazy?" Goten asked.

"Well, when Nick usually does this, and I go to tell him off…" Natalie started off.

"Yeah?"

"He gets this smile on his face and says 'but it was funny!'."

"Yeah…"

"It's just one of the cutest faces!" Natalie said, blushing and giggling.

"Add her to the list of grown ups fully back to their teen selves." Trunks said.

"Look, there's the signal!" Yamcha said. Sure enough, Drake had sent two fireballs into the air.

"I'm confused, won't that attract attention to them?" Goten asked as the team followed Yamcha.

"That's the point." Yamcha said, smiling.

_In the castle…_

"What is all the commotion outside?!" The King demanded, bursting into his main hall. Dimethic, Medilan and Mara were already there.

"We must be under attack." Medilan said. "Supporters of The Elder?"

"There's no way they could know of his imprisonment already." The King said.

"Unless it was…" Mara said. Before she could finish what she was saying, the double doors of the main hall blasted open. The unconscious bodies of the two main hall guards were flown across the room and landed at the King's feet.

"You!" Medilan said, indication Zophen. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Well, I tried it and didn't like it very much." Zophen said. "Was that right?"

"It was okay, but you failed in delivery man." Nicholas (now the only one) said.

"Who are these children with you?" Medilan asked.

"He doesn't recognise us, sweet!" Nicholas said.

"I recognise some!" Medilan replied, in a somewhat childish manner. Nicholas raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, what a retort. I'm stung viciously."

"Good."

"That was sarcasm you idiot."

"ENOUGH!" The King yelled, obviously annoyed. "You decolains may have escaped death once, but you won't again."

"They look different from before." Dimethic said. "I sense the work of Inerl here."

"There are less of them than before as well." Mara pointed out.

"Maybe these were the ones that survived."

"It's time for the rematch." Gohan said, powering up. "And this time, I am not leaving without my wife."

_Meanwhile…_

"These dungeons are creepy." Goten whined. "How come we're the ones here again?"

"We're here to…" Before Yamcha could explain, thirty guards surrounded team two.

"Crap." Trunks said, rather unsurprised.

"These odds aren't too bad, just as long as we don't rush into anything." Yamcha said.

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!" David and Natalie yelled, as they jumped head first into the mesh of guards.

"Every minute more we spend with these people, I understand your brother more and more." Trunks said, as he watched them try to beat the crap out of thirty guards.

To Be Continued…

Finally huh?! Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long but we will have to see guys. Bye for now!

(1) Vash the Stampede is the main character in the anime Trigun. I will go out on a limb and say he is probably the best fictional character ever. EVER!

(2) Bishi is short for bishonen which means pretty boy in Japanese.

(3) Seth Cohen is one of the central characters on "The OC" and is played by Adam Brody. Seth is one of the funniest characters on American teen television since Xander Harris. Seriously.

(4) "P-chan" is the name of Akane's pet pig on the Ranma ½ series. His alter ego is actually human, known as Ryoga Hibiki who is in love with Akane. It's a very long story. He's a very good character, very cute, lol.

(5) Speaking of Ranma ½, "osage-no-onna" means pig-tailed girl. This is what Kuno called the female version of Ranma (who indeed has a pigtail).

(6) Chiyo-chan is one of the characters in Azumanga Daioh. One of my favourite animes. She's so friggin cute!

(7) Not really a reference but you guys remember Alex right? Randomly appeared in Trunks and Goten: The teenage years. He was usually banter partner with Remy. Had a vision of owning a Benz and a Babe.


	16. Are We Still Using The Codenames?

**Rifts and Changes**

**Chapter Sixteen: Are We Still Using The Codenames?**

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their templates are people I know

A/N: It was a long wait, I'm sorry! I wanted to get it right, and I hope you like it!

* * *

"Yamcha, should we try and…?" Goten asked.

"Nope." Yamcha said. "We'll come in when they ask for help."

"But…"

"Sorry Goten, but they should've thought about that before they dove head first into a crowd of thirty armed guards."

"We're handling it!" David yelled.

"I'm finding that very hard to believe." Yamcha sighed.

"Oh ye of little faith!" David replied. "On three Nat…"

"Did he just say ye?" Trunks asked.

"THREE!" David yelled. Natalie jumped into the air as David started to run faster and faster around the guards until they were all carried into the air by the strong wind he was making. Natalie then jumped down and found herself stuck in the mini tornado.

"Oh yes, this looks smart." Trunks replied snidely. David stopped running and all thirty guards were on the floor looking disorientated. Trunks' jaw fell to the floor in shock. "H-h-h-how!"

"Well, the sudden fast circle like motion made them dizzy." David said.

"Thus, that made them an easy target for me to layeth the smackdown." Natalie said.

"Ohhh…" Trunks said.

"Well I wasn't expecting that." Yamcha laughed.

"I expected nothing less." Goten grinned. Everyone looked at him surprised. "What? If my brother has full confidence in them, then I see no reason why I shouldn't!"

"That's so cute!" Natalie squealed.

"Geez, I forgot how annoyingly high pitched you were." David said. "I did not miss that."

"I bet you didn't miss this either." Natalie said, elbowing David in the ribs hard.

"Okay, enough horsing around." Yamcha said, running off. A beat later, the others followed him. "We have a back up plan to implement!"

_In the West Tower of the Castle…_

"Lomet!" A loud voice yelled throughout the halls.

"Oh joy. It's The Prince!" Lomet sighed, as she continued to braid a young woman's hair. The Prince burst through the double doors of the room Lomet and the young woman were in. The room was pink. All of it. Pastel pink. With any long material having an edge of lace. Which was also pink. The Prince himself was also pink in the face, as he had spent the last half an hour yelling around the castle yelling for Lomet.

"When I call you Lomet, I EXPECT YOU TO ANSWER STRAIGHT AWAY!" The Prince yelled.

"I'm sorry Your Majesty, but I was doing something important." Lomet replied. The Prince's eyebrow twitched.

"How is braiding my daughter's hair more important than the explosions that are happening outside!" The Prince yelled.

"Father, you know as well as I do that a member of the royal family must always look her best. No matter what." The young woman answered, with a sickly sweet tone. The Prince sweat-dropped.

"I get the feeling that I have spoiled you far too much." The Prince sighed. Lomet rolled her eyes.

"Do not worry Father, I am sure Grandfather has everything in hand." The Princess said. As if on cue, another loud explosion echoed through the castle.

"That is IT!" The Prince yelled. "We are going to the main hall!" He dragged his daughter by the hand.

"Why?" The Princess asked.

"To go and see your grandfather."

"Why?"

"So we can ask him what's going on…and please don't say why again."

"Okay…if that's where all the danger is, what is the reason for us to go in that direction?"

"…"

"Father?"

"To be honest with you, we're not safe anywhere in this castle."

"That's not very comforting." The Princess said. The Prince could hear a waver in her voice, as if she were about to cry, but he decided to ignore it and press on.

_Castle Main Hall…_

"Dude, why is that guy laughing?" Nicholas asked.

"That 'dude' is the King." Zophen replied. "I think he is laughing at Boss."

"Are we still using the codenames?" Uubu asked.

"That's not what I'm worried about right now." Pan replied, pointing to her father. Gohan had clocked that the King was laughing at him, and his face had become red due to the anger and embarrassment.

"Why are you laughing!" Gohan demanded. The King briefly stopped.

"It's just…you're married to her, and she looks old enough to be your mother!" The King said, promptly going back to laughing his head off.

"Shut up!" Gohan cried, charging straight for him.

"Woah." The rest of team one stared at him in awe. Before Gohan could attack the King, Mara stood in his way.

"We meet again honey." Mara said, smirking. "Most guys would give up after having their ass handed to them by a girl."

"I'm not most guys." Gohan replied. Before Mara could react, Gohan was holding her over his head and tossed her to the other side of the room.

"Oh my God!" Pan yelled, as she started to run over to Mara.

"Pan, stop." Gohan said. Pan looked at him like he was crazy. "Like you said, that's not your mother. Besides, she can take more than that."

"I think it's safe to say 'Badass Gohan' has joined us after an absence of many years." Nicholas said, as the rest of team one nodded in awe and started to applaud.

"Then let us take the example of our leader, and attack!" Zophen said.

"FATHER!" The Prince's voiced echoed throughout the main hall. Zophen face-faulted.

"Poor Zophen…he was all cute and ready to attack!" Pan said sadly.

"Your priorities shift easier than luggage in the overhead compartment of an aeroplane." Drake said snidely.

"Please son, this doesn't concern you!" The King said.

"It does when there are a million bombs going off around us!" The Prince, so engrossed in his rage, chose to ignore everyone and everything else in the room. Mara got up dazed.

"Huh…I'm a little surprised that you attacked me." Mara said, shakily getting up.

"I know. I was counting on that." Gohan said, as he charged again. Mara attacked too, this time blocking all his punches and kicks.

"Aren't you afraid of damaging your wife's body?" Mara asked, finally connecting a punch to Gohan's chin. He looked unaffected.

"Injuries can be healed. Broken bones fixed. Her mind is the most important thing now, and I'm going to get it back." Gohan said, returning her punch threefold. She went flying across the room.

"Anyone else think this match is a little unbalanced?" Andrea asked, looking at the fight through her fingers.

"I'm having a hard time watching both fights." Zophen replied. The second fight he was referring to was the one between father and son.

"What on Earth have you gotten us into this time!" The Prince yelled.

"How dare you take that tone with me!" The King yelled back.

"In trusting Medilan, you've brought havoc to this planet! Instead of doing what is best for your people, you keep worrying about someone usurping your throne!"

"Of course! You think I am going to allow some outsider to just rule over this planet!"

"They would do a better job than you are right now! You sound like a crazy old man, jabbering on about something that would never have happened if you were not so scared of it!"

"Zing and a half." Drake said, nodding in approval.

_Back to Team Two…_

"Ahh, so this is what you meant by back up plan!" Trunks said, smiling.

"I still don't get it, what's Gandalf gonna do? Throw his staff at the bad guys?" David said.

"For the last time, I am not Gandalf!" The Elder said. Yamcha was busy at work opening the cell that was holding The Elder.

"Done!" Yamcha said.

"Amazing, I have been trying for a long time to open this and I could not! How did you manage it?" The Elder asked. Yamcha blushed in embarrassment.

"Well…" Yamcha said, sweat-dropping. "That's not important right now! Sir, Inerl told us that the original legend manuscript is kept here and you know how to get it."

"That's right. It is the reason I was imprisoned." The Elder replied. Yamcha grabbed The Elder and put him on his back. "What are you…!"

"I'm sorry but we don't have much time!" Yamcha said. "Direct me to that place! Inerl said that there may be something in there that can tell us how to stop Medilan."

"Very well then. The quickest way is down that hall!" The Elder said. Yamcha sped off with the others running behind him.

"If I had known we were gonna do this much running, I would've gone with Boss's team." Trunks sighed.

"Turn left here!" The Elder said, looking visibly pale.

"Sir, please stop holding my neck so tight. I still need to breathe!" Yamcha said, as he made a sharp left.

"I've got the old 70s Scooby-Doo theme song running through my head." David said. (1)

"So do I!" Natalie said.

"Why are you guys so weird?" Trunks asked.

"There was this theory that there was something in the water, the year we were born." David said.

"That and the TV we grew up on was…well, weird to say the least!" Natalie said.

"I'm gonna go with the water thing." Trunks said, with Goten nodding in agreement.

"We are here." The Elder said. Yamcha put him down. They had entered a room that had nothing in it except a big stone wall. Team Two sweat-dropped in confusion. "No one outside of the royal family has ever seen this. The copies of the legend that we have seen are all…well, copies."

"Interesting." Trunks said dryly. "Can we get on with the hocus pocus?"

"Right." The Elder said. He started to mutter some words in the Tocohperan language. When he had finished, writing started to appear on the big stone wall.

"Woah…"

"Indeed." The Elder replied. "Oh dear…it says here that in order to access the legend, a descendent of the royal family must place their hand on the stone wall."

"Well that's just great, we don't know the royal family." Trunks said.

"Not to mention the head honcho seems to have a vendetta against us anyhow." David added.

"Guys, isn't Videl-san the REAL descendent of the royal family?" Goten asked.

"Yes, but she's evil now." Trunks said.

"Well then can't we just go get Cory?"

"He's on Earth."

"How about Pan-chan?"

"Hmm…that should work!" Trunks said.

"I worry about the future if it takes us that long to figure out anything." Natalie said, smiling uneasily. "David?"

"On it dude." David said, as he left at super speed.

_Back in the main hall…_

"Captain, I think it's time we…" Dimethic started to say. Medilan nodded.

"Mara, come here." Medilan yelled. Mara stopped fighting with Gohan and ran over to stand next to Medilan and Dimethic. Dimethic proceeded to put a protective force field around the three of them.

"NO!" Gohan yelled as he flew over to them and tried to punch his way through the force field.

"Uh oh…that does not bode well." Andrea said.

"My father, your grandfather, trusted Medilan with his life!" The King said.

"Yeah! And he died before he should have, does that not bother you in the slightest?" The Prince asked. The King sighed.

"Leave. We are to discuss this no longer."

"I am not a child Father, you cannot just dismiss me when I say something you do not like!"

"I can, and I have." The King said.

"Both of you, you must stop this arguing!" Zophen said, trying to stop the two from coming to blows.

"Give her back you coward!" Gohan yelled, pummelling on the force field.

"Time to give Gohan some back up guys!" Nicholas said.

"Ready Pan? Pan?" Drake said, noticing she was gone. "Freaky." He looked around and noticed a note stuck on his father's back. It said: 'Pan's with us…kick Nick real hard! Love David'. "Super speed is definitely useful."

_Back to Team Two…_

"What am I doing here?" Pan demanded.

"You've been demoted." Trunks said.

"NANI!" Pan said, growing angrier by the second. Goten stood between the two of them.

"He's kidding!" Goten said. "We need you to unlock some ancient text. It can only be opened by you, Cory or Videl."

"Aha…so you need me!" Pan said, smirking.

"This, young Goten, is what I was trying to avoid." Trunks sighed. Goten sweat-dropped.

"Pan, we do not have time for this." Yamcha said.

"I know that!" Pan said. "I wanna know what's in it for me, that's all."

"Shrewd." David commented.

"I thought so." Pan replied.

"Pan, sweetie, if you do not do this, I will be forced to tell Drake your secret." Natalie said.

"You wouldn't dare!" Pan said.

"Try me." Natalie said, smiling in a very creepy way.

"Fine." Pan said. "I was only joking." Pan went to the wall and placed her hand there. The writing that was there disappeared and more writing appeared. The Elder started to read through it.

"Everything looks the same…wait, except this." The Elder said. "There's no mention of the corruption that has caused you all to come here."

"Wasn't that key in the whole 'Gohan is Aragorn' bit?" Trunks asked.

"Yes, it was." The Elder said. "Oh no…it was just as Inerl feared…"

"Stop with the cryptic Gandalf, what's going on?" Natalie asked.

_Back to the main hall…_

"Enough of this foolishness." Dimethic said, as he charged a psychic blast that made Gohan and the rest of team one (sans Zophen) fly across the room.

"Owww…anyone notice that this happens to us an awful lot?" Nicholas said, rubbing his head.

"I think it's about time." Medilan said.

_Back to Team Two…_

"There is a traitor to The King. That is what has caused you to come." The Elder said.

"And five yen, I know who that is." Trunks said.

"Five yen? You're cheap for a billionaire!" Yamcha smirked.

_Back to the main hall…_

"Time for what?" Mara asked. Medilan held out his hands, and a green ball of electric style energy emerged. He fired and it went straight through the King's torso, barely missing the Prince. "Oh. That."

"GRANDFATHER!" The Princess shrieked.

"Who the heck let the high pitched chickie in here!" Drake cried, covering his ears.

"What are you doing!" Gohan cried, looking at Medilan in shock. "He was your King!"

"I think Tocopherat can do without a monarchy." Medilan said. Gohan's eyes widened in shock.

"Shimatta!" Gohan cried, as he flew off towards the Prince. He took him in his arms and flew upwards to avoid Medilan's second strike. "SOMEONE GET THE PRINCESS!"

"On it!" Drake said, grabbing the girl and putting her over his shoulder.

"What do you think you are doing! You cannot touch me, I am royalty!" The Princess cried.

"Okay girl, you're speaking in your native tongue. So you don't understand me, and I can't understand you." Drake said. The Princess continued to cry in protest. "Aiya…"

"Everyone, retreat!" Gohan said.

"Boss, you're kidding me right? We haven't gotten Videl yet!" Nicholas yelled.

"We'll come back for her later! If we don't leave now, we're gonna have an intergalactic crisis on our hands!" Gohan said. "Cover us Uubu!"

"Right!" Uubu said, as he deflected Medilan's attacks while everyone else made their way out of the main hall and out of the castle.

_Back to Team Two…_

"We'd better tell Gohan." Yamcha said. But Gohan beat him to the punch.

_"YAMCHA-SAN, ARE YOU THERE!"_

"OW! Yes, but I don't think I can hear anymore!"

_"THERE'S NO TIME FOR JOKES NOW! MEDILAN JUST KILLED THE KING!"_

"Crap, I guess we were too late." Natalie sighed.

_"WE'VE GOT THE PRINCE AND HIS DAUGTHER WITH US! DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET IF ANYTHING WENT WRONG!"_

"Hai…" Yamcha said, holding the ear piece at arms length.

_"GOOD, WE'LL SEE YOU THERE! BE CAREFUL!"_

"Kid needs to learn to use his indoor voice." Yamcha sighed. "Okay, you heard Gohan. We've got to get going."

_A few hours later…_

"…reports that King Raben is dead. The Captain of the Tocopheran Army was there, but unfortunately could not stop this great tragedy from happening. While it has yet to be proven, Captain Medilan Sterylin has named the King's son, Prince Rofen as the culprit. So far, the whereabouts of Prince Rofen and his daughter are unknown. We'll bring you more as the story develops."

"Huh…so, you do get the news over here." David said, as he stared the holographic image. Both Teams, plus Inerl, The Elder and the royals had gone into hiding. They were in a small house that was cloaked by Inerl's magic.

"David, this isn't really the time to be in awe of their technology." Andrea whispered, indicating the grieving royals.

"Oops." David sweat-dropped.

"I cannot believe this has happened." Prince Rofen said. He was holding his daughter, who was weeping uncontrollably. "What are we to do now?"

"I…I am sorry. I do not know." The Elder said. He took the royals to another room, so that the others could talk.

"I do." Gohan said. "We know who the true enemy is now."

"As if we didn't before." Trunks muttered.

"We do the smart thing this time. Go underground. Do some investigating. But we strike while the iron is hot." Gohan said.

"Have you got a plan?" Inerl asked.

"I do." Gohan said. "But first, we need to rest."

"I heard that." Nicholas said. "Making loads of me is exhausting."

"I can imagine. Taking care of just one of you tires me out enough." Natalie replied.

_The Tocopheran Army HQ…_

"That is enough for today, the Captain will answer all your questions tomorrow." Dimethic said, pushing the last of the reporters out of Medilan's office.

"I wish you had told me your plan Medilan." Mara said, looking out of his office window.

"Would it have made a difference?" Medilan asked.

"Yes, if I had known you were going to kill him then I wouldn't have watched my manners around him."

"We have more pressing issues." Medilan said. "The appearance of these Decolains means that the Earth was not destroyed, like you claimed."

"I told you. They are more resistant that you give them credit for." Mara said. Inside, she felt a twinge inside her. She was not sure if it was guilt or relief.

"It does not matter much. I did not want Earth destroyed in the first place. Just Son Gohan and anyone in relation to him."

"For killing your father."

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Medilan smiled.

"I wouldn't worry about Son Gohan's friends, sir. Thanks to Mara, I anticipated something like this would happen." Dimethic said. "It's all been…taken care of."

_Back on Earth…_

"So, what are you up to these days Remy?" Alex asked. Remy laughed nervously.

"Okay, this is too weird for me!" Remy said, as she left him standing there.

"So suddenly…" Alex sighed.

_DING DONG_

"I'll get it!" Bulma said, as she ran to the door. Just as quickly, she was thrown across the room in a blast.

"BULMA!" Vegeta yelled, as he ran to check on her. "She's alive…barely."

"We were told there were still some rats left." Anthius said. He had a 25 strong group behind him. "Don't worry, the exterminator's here."

"Well…if that wasn't a plot twist I was totally expecting." Remy said.

To Be Continued…

You guys are gonna hate me now! I'm sorry! I will try my best to get the next chappie out. There's not much of the story left, so hang in there!

(1) As you probably all remember, the old 70s Scooby Doo cartoon used to have a chase scene in every episode, and every chase scene had a song.

Woo, just the one. Good for me!


	17. Girl are frickin stupid!

**Rifts and Changes**

**Chapter Seventeen: "****You can't apologise enough for third degree burns." or "Girls are frickin stupid!"**

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their templates are people I know

A/N: I am soooo sorry this took so long. Words cannot express my regret! I had the biggest writer's block I've ever had ever! I tried to make this chapter extra long…anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

"Now is not the time for one of your smartass quips Remy." CJ said. "We've got to get the kids to safety."

"Somehow, I don't think that will be one of your main concerns." Anthius said. "Attack!" The 25 Tocopheran soldiers ran inside the Capsule Corps building, ready to annihilate anything that moved. Unfortunately for them, they had underestimated the Z-senshi a great deal. Gohan knew that Medilan would never send his most capable fighters (Dimethic and Thelia) away from his side. He also knew that when it came to hand to hand combat, nobody was better than a student of the Kame-sennin fighting style.

"Hold that thought boys." Krillin said, as he powered up a Kamehameha and blasted at least half the soldiers back into the front garden.

"Woah!" Daniel and Adrian said, in amazement.

"I need to get Bulma some medical help, now!" Vegeta yelled, in anger.

"We're working on clearing a path Vegeta, give us a minute." Tien said, fighting two guards. He disposed of them quickly enough, but…

"Okay, is it just me or do they seem to keep growing in numbers?" Marron said.

"DAMN IT! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Vegeta yelled, once again.

"They are growing in numbers." Claudia pointed out. "See, every time Mr Krillin blasts one of them with those energy blast thingies, they split in two and…well, I think you know where I'm going with this."

"Yeah, they're feeding off the chi blasts." Piccolo said.

"Chi blasts huh?" #18 said, as she rolled up her sleeves. "Sorry boys, this looks like women's work."

"Okay, I think we need to make room first!" Chi-Chi said.

"No worries, I'll take it outside." #18 smirked. She created a vacuum of air that pushed all the soldiers, including Anthius, out onto the front garden. She then carried out a one woman assault on the soldiers, switching from hand-to-hand combat and blasts.

"Dude, your mom's awesome!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Indeed she is." Marron smiled.

"I can't take this anymore." Bra said, cracking her knuckles and joining #18 in the fight.

"Should we really let her do that?" Piccolo asked.

"Are you going to tell her that she can't?" Launch (the good one) said, watching through her fingers.

"Good point."

"I think we're almost done here." #18 said.

"Not quite." Anthius said, grabbing her head in his hand. "You're the android, correct? So, if I leave you out in the rain, you'd rust right? Or if I punch a hole straight through your head, you'd still be alive right? Running around like a headless chicken!"

"We can hit him with chi blasts, right?" Krillin said.

"Yes." Goku responded.

"Good." Krillin said, powering up another Kamehameha and firing it straight at Anthius. Fortunately, it gave #18 enough time to get out of his grip. Unfortunately, it hardly hurt him.

"Don't you guys get it? Four super Saiyans couldn't handle me! What makes you think you second stringers can!" Anthius said, laughing maniacally.

"Allow us to give you a demonstration." Piccolo said.

_Back on Tocopherat…_

"Gohan, are you sure this is the right course of action?" Nicholas asked.

"_'Right course of action'_? What are you, Spock or something?" Trunks smirked.

"Nicholas, don't you think this whole my-wife-doesn't-have-the-power-to-take-care-of-herself thing is getting old?" Gohan asked. Nicholas blinked.

"You called me by my full first name." Nicholas said. "Did I do something to offend you?"

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" Gohan said. Nicholas just stared at him. Gohan sighed. "She will be fine."

"Nuh uh!"

"Yeah huh!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yeah huh!"

"So Zophen, you still worried about leaving the fate of the world in my brother's hands?" Goten grinned.

"Please Goten, this is not the time to be making jokes." Zophen said, sweat-dropping.

"How come you call everyone 'Mr' except me?" Goten asked.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Zophen exclaimed very loudly. Everyone stared at him as Zophen blushed in embarrassment.

"I see Vegeta's mannerisms have rubbed off on him." Andrea said.

"Leave Zophen alone Uncle Goten!" Pan cried.

"Natalie has Yamcha and David to look out for her in case anything goes wrong." Gohan said.

"That is not what I'm worried about!" Nicholas cried. "There are tons of young men out there for her to eyeball!"

"I beg your pardon?" Gohan said, looking at Nicholas in disbelief.

"You heard me!"

"Well, yes I did. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't say it by mistake."

"Don't mock my real concerns Gohan!"

"Real concerns? Natalie is first of all, married to you. Second of all, she is a grown woman."

"Not anymore! Not since that wizard guy zapped us back into zit-faced, hormonally driven teenagers!"

"Nick, you've never had a zit in your life and you're always hormonally driven." Gohan sighed.

"What!"

"Yes, it's one of your quirks. But we love you for your quirks, so don't worry darling." Andrea smirked.

"What are ya, hitting on me or something!" Nicholas asked. Andrea started to laugh loudly, with reckless abandon. "My self-esteem is crashing Gohan."

"You were never like this when you were seventeen, man." Gohan said. "You were more hyper, and putting in cultural references everywhere."

"Well, the two hysterical ones are on lookout with Yamcha. Someone's got to fill the void." Nicholas said, returning to a calm state.

"Riiight." Gohan said, leaving Nicholas to go to the other room.

"Drake!" Nicholas said. "Go and check on the princess."

"What the heck do I gotta do that for!" Drake said, annoyed. "She's sitting right over there!" The Princess was sitting about ten feet away from Drake.

"Cos I said so, that's why."

"You know, you're only doing this to re-establish a sense of control. You're abusing your status as my father."

"And you're giving me lip."

"We don't even speak the same language. What am I supposed to do, hand signal to her?"

"Well you act smart, time to prove it!"

"You're being so lame."

"Rubber and Glue Drake my boy."

"I can't believe we're having this conversation." Drake sighed.

"This doesn't happen often?" Trunks asked.

"No, it happens all the time. I just thought since we're in MORTAL DANGER he'd let up a bit."

"Uh huh." Trunks said, sweat-dropping.

"If it is such a bother for you to check on my wellbeing, then do not bother. I have no need or want for it. I would also like to point out that not one person asked me if I even wanted to be 'checked up on' in the first place." The Princess said, before storming off.

"I guess royal snooty-ness is universal." Nicholas said.

"She has no idea where she's storming off to." Andrea said.

"Poor girl." Pan said. "She must be so embarrassed."

"FINE! I'LL GO!" Drake said, trying to catch up with her.

"Hey, how come she understood what we said?" Goten asked.

"I asked Inerl to use his sorcery to make sure there was no language barrier between any of us." The Elder said, quietly sipping what he called "Tocopheran Style Tea".

"How come you never mentioned this before Drake and Nick insulted her?" Gohan asked.

"I did not think it was relevant."

"Well, well, well. Gandalf is certainly a crafty bastard!" Trunks said, also sipping some tea.

_About a mile away from the castle…_

"Gah! This is so frickin boring!" David sighed.

"I agree. We should be out there, hitting stuff." Yamcha said, annoyed.

"Guys, I'm here to gather intelligence." Natalie said, obviously annoyed with both of them.

"Then why the heck are we here?" Yamcha asked.

"You got me. But with the return of Badass-Gohan, I'm sure not gonna question him." Natalie said. "Gohan said that he wants us to find out when Medilan is next gonna make a public appearance."

"Why?" Yamcha asked.

"Like I said, I didn't question why." Natalie said. "Dave, could you put these listening devices in Medilan's quarters without being seen?"

"Done and done." David said. Natalie noticed the equipment had disappeared from her hands.

"Nice job." She smiled, putting the ear piece in.

"Don't we get to listen?" David pouted.

"No, sorry!" Natalie replied.

"You know, even when we were kids, you were never good at sharing anything." David said snidely.

"Shh, shh! I can hear them talking!" Natalie said.

_Inside the castle…_

"Well, sir, congratulations is in order." Dimetic said, as he dined with Mara and Medilan.

"Oh, and why is that?" Medilan asked.

"You've finally overthrown the monarchy that got your father killed. I assume that's a reason to celebrate."

"Dimethic, early celebrations of victory are signs of overconfidence. We still have to gain the public's full trust and loyalty. We also must destroy the off-worlders."

"I see. My apologies."

"I agree with Dimethic. I think it's weird you aren't celebrating." Mara said. Medilan gave her a death glare, which she returned threefold.

"That is not what I said at all Mara!" Dimethic exclaimed.

"Ah. My apologies to you then." Mara said, wiping her mouth with her napkin. "If you'll excuse me, I have finished my dinner." She left.

"Your hold on her is weakening Dimethic." Medilan said.

"The arrival of her husband is making it harder. If I push her any harder, she'll become a vegetable."

"And that's bad?"

"Captain!"

"Dimethic. She is a means to our end. We were going to kill her in the end. You know that. She is a descendant of the true royal family of this planet. I want to rule this planet. She's in my way, so she dies."

"But…"

"Please don't tell me you've developed feelings for her!" Medilan chuckled. Dimethic stayed silent. "Ah, how very sad. Dimethic, your love for her is superficial. Besides, she's a married woman. You'd never have a chance."

"Yes sir." Dimethic's face darkened.

"Back to business. Is the conference room available for tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately, the conference room is not big enough to house the amount of people you want there. There is room in the Ketsiz stadium."

"That will do. Make the arrangements. I want all press and media outlets there, as well as our distinguished guests."

"Yes sir."

"Any word on…?"

"No trace of them. It seems they've gone underground, taking the Prince and Princess with them."

"I see. Very well." Medilan said, also leaving the table.

"I'm beginning to lose sight of the benefits for working for this man." Dimethic sighed.

_Back to outside the castle…_

"HOLY FREAKIN' CRAP!" Natalie cried.

"Not good news then?" David sneered. She proceeded to slap him upside the head. "Ow!"

"Good news; I got the information Gohan wanted. Bad news; Videl's in much more danger than we realised unless that Dimethic S.O.B. decides to grow a pair between now and tomorrow." Natalie said, very panicked. "Dave!"

"On it!" David said, bringing back the equipment.

"Okay, let's go. MOVE!" Natalie said, as the three of them ran back. They needed to get to a certain spot before Natalie could transport them back.

"I'm very confused." Yamcha said.

"It tends to happen a lot around Natalie. It's a telepath thing." David whispered.

"Am I going to need to-OOF!" Natalie cried as she fell on the floor.

"Oof? That's a new one." David said. He looked up and saw she had run straight into one of Medilan's guards. "Aw boogers."

"Don't worry, I can take care of this." Yamcha said, getting into a fighting stance.

"Do!" Natalie said, clutching her nose.

"Do?" Yamcha asked.

"Dose ouchie!" Natalie said. "Gohad said do fightid!"

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"Hey! Do not ignore us!" The guard said, as he prepped his laser gun.

"Nat! Foreign words! Laser gun!" David exclaimed in panic.

"OKAY!" She said, as she put her hands in front of his face. "You do dot rebeber a thing! Got it?"

"I do not remember a thing!"

"You will go back to duty."

"I will go back to duty."

"You will slap David upside the head."

"Okay." The guard did as he was told, and then left them. (1)

"What the heck was that for?" David yelled.

"For bockid be!" Natalie yelled back.

"Can you blame me? Look how easy you're making it for me!"

"Um, guys? We're here." Yamcha said, sweat dropping.

"Good." Natalie said.

"I can't tell, are you saying 'goon', or 'good'?"

"SHUDDAP!"

_Somewhere, in the good guys' hideout…_

"Crap. Her dress was so big I didn't think she could run so fast!" Drake said, running after her. "Hey stop! I want to apologise!"

"Really?" The Princess said, as she stopped and waited for Drake to catch up.

"No. But I couldn't think of any other way to get you to stop." Drake said, catching his breath and flashing a cheesy grin. The princess did not look impressed.

"You could have asked me." The princess said, as she pulled a pillow out from hammerspace and sat down. Drake blinked and sat down next to her.

"I did."

"No, you demanded that I stop. You did not ask, and you did not refer to me by name."

"I don't know your name." Drake said. The princess opened her mouth but couldn't think of anything to say. She folded her arms, obviously annoyed.

"Well, then you could've addressed me as 'Princess'."

"But I'm not from this planet, ergo, you're not my princess." Drake was secretly enjoying annoying her like this.

"…Why must you be so audacious?" She sighed.

"Can't help it. It's in my genetics."

"How awful for you."

"I was being sarcastic."

"I believe I was too."

"Huh. I didn't know royalty could do sarcasm." Drake said, amused. "So, what is your name?"

"Gina."

"Gina. Really?"

"It is an abbreviation of my real name."

"Oh. Can you…?"

"It is at least seven syllables long and in an accent you could not pronounce."

"Ah." Drake said, twiddling his thumbs. He turned away to avoid eye contact with her. "Gina's nice."

"Thank you." Gina said, taken aback slightly. They both sat there avoiding eye contact with each other until Drake broke the silence.

"Should we get back now?"

"I suppose. I do not want my father to worry about me. He has enough things to worry about." She sighed.

"Hey, I'm sorry about your Grandpa." Drake said, finally turning to face her.

"You do not need to apologise. You did not kill him." She said with a straight face. Drake sweat-dropped slightly.

"Yeah, but…well, it's an Earth thing. We say we're sorry that someone died, because it's a loss. You know?"

"I see. Your race is far more polite than I had realised."

"No race is perfect Gina. Everybody's got their good and bad guys."

"Like Medilan." She said, her face darkening. Drake decided to change the subject.

"Were you close to your Grandpa?"

"Not really. He was always too afraid to get close to anyone really. Especially since my Grandmother died so young. He was convinced it was a rebel plot, so that he would only have one heir to his throne. He always said 'fewer targets make it easier for them to get rid of us'."

"Woah, definitely not Grandpa material. They're supposed to be stern but cool or nice, cuddly and loaded."

"In some way, I suppose he is at peace now. Away from all the suspicions and paranoia."

"Don't be sad Gina. We will get Medilan for this."

"Yes, because you did such a brilliant job before!"

"Okay, I think you're showing off with your newfound ability to be sarcastic." Drake said, frowning.

"I…I am…" She tried to apologise but Drake put up his hand.

"It's okay."

"Do you really think everything will be okay?"

"Yes." He said, looking straight into her eyes.

"How can you be so confident?"

"Cos we're the good guys. No matter how long it takes, and even though we may have great tragedy along the way, we always triumph."

"That is a very comforting saying."

"Yep. My parents are good at the comforting thing." Drake said, edging closer to Gina. She blushed as he leaned in to kiss her but they were interrupted.

"OH HELL NO!" A voice shrieked.

"Let me see: inappropriate exclamation, annoyingly shrill voice and extremely bad timing. All answers point to Pan!" Drake cried, putting his hands through his hair. He noticed that Gina was gone, pillow and all. "I hope she didn't run off again."

"This is so like you Drake!" Pan cried.

"Yes, comforting damsels in distress is one of the many things I am famous for!" Drake said, staring down at her.

"That's not what I meant you narcissistic twit!"

"Woah, name calling already? What the hell tweaked you?"

"NOTHING TWEAKED ME! I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR THAT YOU GET TO HAVE A ROMANCE WHILE WE'RE HERE TRYING TO SAVE MY MOM!"

"Uh…huh. And all your flirting with Zophen was about what exactly?"

"…"

"I thought as much. You're just jealous that Zophen doesn't have the same feelings you do and you want to take it out of me cos you know I won't dish back whatever you give me."

"…"

"This speechless Pan stuff is most wonderful!" Drake grinned. "And may I just say being a narcissist means I love myself. For the record, I don't. I am aware of my good qualities but that's just arrogance. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a princess to find." Drake left Pan standing there speechless.

"I swear, one day, I'm gonna kill that boy." Pan seethed.

_Back on Earth…_

"A toast! To our wonderful selves!" Krillin said, laughing loudly as everyone knocked back a glass of cola. Krillin was currently standing on top of a titanium steel cage that was holding Anthius and Hamelis. They had decided to keep them both in the same place to avoid any further communication with Tocopherat. "Chi-Chi called, Bulma's doing fine. Vegeta's pretty much collapsed, but he's fine too." The kids were ushered inside to have their own mini celebration.

"I haven't fought like that in a while, it felt good." Tien said.

"Indeed." Piccolo agreed. "I don't think this beverage is agreeing with me though." He put the cola down, and opted for a glass of water instead.

"CJ, you alright?" Remy asked, sitting next to CJ.

"I'm fine. I just think this celebration is a bit premature."

"Geez, you can be such a cynic."

"Maybe so. But Alex's presence worries me."

"How do you mean?"

"If he's here, trouble's not far behind." CJ said. "Even if everything goes well, and everyone comes back safely from that planet, I don't think that's gonna be the end of it."

"Lighten up, will ya? The good guys always win!"

"This isn't a comic book."

"I know that. No one here is half as good looking as Nightwing (2) is presumed to be."

"Remy!"

"I'm kidding. In all seriousness, the good guys will win this."

"How'd you figure?"

"Universal balance. Not a single thing has gone our way so far, so we've gotta win in the end!"

"That doesn't instil me with great confidence." CJ sighed. "So, what's the story between you and Alex?" Remy spit out her cola.

"THERE IS NO STORY!"

"Uh huh."

"You're just getting revenge for all the ribbing we gave you and Goten!"

"Maybe…"

"DAMN YOU!"

_Back the hideout…_

"Gohan, I'm feeling a bit nervous that you haven't told us the plan yet." Uubu said.

"There's a reason for that. I'm sorry, but…" Gohan paused, and then smiled. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine, trust me."

"When you smile like that, you look a lot like your father." Uubu said.

"Really?" Gohan blushed in embarrassment. "My, that's quite a compliment!" Before they could continue their conversation, Yamcha, David and Natalie appeared in the living room.

"EBERGEDCY!" Natalie screamed at the top of her lungs. Everyone who wasn't already there, came running in.

"What? What is it!" Inerl said.

"Bedilan's havidg a beetidg of-OOF!" Natalie said. She had been tackled to the floor by Nicholas.

"Oh ewww." Drake said, covering his eyes.

"She seems to like finishing her sentences with OOF a lot." David smirked.

"Shut up you moron!" Natalie said. "Ah, you clicked my nose back into place. Thanks honey."

"You're welcome!" Nicholas grinned.

"Now, can ya get off of me?"

"Do I gotta?"

"DO IT!"

"Hai!" Nicholas said, as he jumped up and hid behind Gohan. Natalie proceeded to tell the others what she had heard Medilan say.

"It's just as I expected." Gohan said. "He claimed this whole thing was revenge for his father, I don't think that's the case. I'm starting to think this whole thing was a set up from the beginning."

"Even his father's death?" The elder asked.

"It's possible." Gohan said grimly.

"I cannot believe it. He has deceived us for so long!" Prince Rofen said, his fists angrily shaking at his sides.

"The conference is tomorrow. Inerl, we're going to need some Tocopheran clothes to blend in." Gohan said.

"How many of us are going Gohan?" Andrea asked.

"Obviously, the prince and princess are going to have to stay here. I think it's safest if the elder stays too." Gohan said, deep in thought. "This place is well hidden, so I don't think that anyone will find you…but I still think someone needs to stay here and protect them."

"I'll do it Gohan." Yamcha said.

"Thank you." Gohan said. "Everyone get some rest. We leave for the castle early in the morning."

"Gohan, don't you think you ought to let us in on the plan?" Andrea asked. Gohan sweat-dropped.

"Not yet." Gohan replied, and laughed nervously.

"Not yet!" David exclaimed.

"See, he's usually the hysterical one." Nicholas explained to Zophen. "So now, I can go back to being my relaxed self."

"I see." Zophen said, nodding understandingly.

"Whaddaya mean, not yet Gohan!" David cried. "We're going in there, trying to overthrow this guy and save your wife, and you won't even let us know what we're supposed to do!"

"You're not supposed to do anything. Not yet." Gohan said, calmly.

"If you say that again, I'm gonna pop you one." David said.

"Calm down sweetie." Andrea said. "I've gotta agree with Dave. Why won't you tell us what we're supposed to do?"

"Yeah, what if I torch some guy I'm not supposed to? You can't apologise enough for third degree burns." Drake said.

"Um…" Gohan started to sweat-drop.

"ENOUGH!" Natalie said. "Gohan knows what he's doing. If we don't gotta know, then we don't gotta know and that's the end of it!"

"But…!" David started to say.

"Park it!" Natalie yelled, and David sat down.

"Nat…" Gohan said, surprised.

"Don't look so surprised Gohan. I trust ya, and so does everyone else." Natalie said, giving Gohan the thumbs up. Gohan smiled.

_Next morning…_

"This land vehicle should get you there undetected." Inerl said. "Good luck. Our future lies with you, Son Gohan."

"Yeah G, no pressure." Nicholas grinned.

"I need to speak to you." The Princess said to Drake, pulling him by the arm.

"Hey, I can walk on my own!" Drake said. Pan sighed as she watched them.

"Is everything alright Miss Pan?" Zophen asked.

"No, it's not."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can't. Not with you." Pan sighed. Zophen was hit with realisation.

"Miss Pan, if I have somehow confused you with my actions, I apologise. I did not mean to give you false hope." Zophen said.

"It's not your fault Zophen. It's just a silly crush. I'll get over it." Pan sighed. "It's just that…Drake gets the adventure romance and I don't! It makes me feel like I'm not desirable. Which then makes me feel bad, cos I'm worrying about that instead of worrying about my mom."

"You are worried about your mother, I know that much." Zophen smiled. "And you are not undesirable Miss Pan. My lack of interest, as it were, is probably because of my age. I'm afraid that despite my appearance, I am probably older than your father."

"Woah."

"Indeed."

"Is…is there someone else?"

"There is."

"Ah. I feel so stupid."

"Don't please. I am very flattered that such an honest, sweet girl would feel that way about me."

"Different time, different place and all that."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, it's an Earth thing."

"Ah, I see." Zophen said, smiling.

"Girls are fricking stupid." Drake said, as he sat down in the vehicle.

"What happened?" Goten asked.

"When you go back to the castle, could you pick up my favourite outfit for me?" Drake mocked in a high pitched voice. "Geez."

"Welcome to the world of men, my friend." Trunks smirked.

_At the Ketsiz Stadium…_

"Preparations are ready sir, you go on the air in five minutes." Medilan nodded and the assistant left the room.

"Are the two of you ready?" Medilan asked.

"We're going on air with you?" Mara asked.

"Of course. I do not usually admit things like this, but I couldn't have done this without your help. I want to share the glory. As long as I'm still in charge."

"Yes sir. We'll join you in a minute." Dimethic said. Medilan left. "Well, that was certainly surprising."

"Indeed. I'm interested to see where this is going to go." Mara said, looking at herself in a mirror.

"So, are you still interested in all this?" Dimethic asked. Mara smirked and kissed him.

"Especially in this."

"Oh my."

"Come on, we'd better go before the boss busts our chops." Mara said, dragging him along to the main arena. There was a long table with three seats on top of a stage. The arena had hundreds of seats which had already filled up. Dimethic and Mara took their designated seats next to Medilan.

_Elsewhere in the Ketsiz stadium…_

"Gohan, these Tocopheran clothes are itchy." David said.

"Be quiet." Gohan said. "We're here now. Okay, Medilan's gonna start his speech pretty soon. When he does, I want you guys to cover me. Dave and Nat, get the civilians as far away from the desk as possible. Uubu, I want you to try and take either Videl or Dimethic. Everyone else, damage control. They've obviously got guards stashed somewhere."

"Hai!" They all said in hushed voices.

"People of Tocopherat, I apologise that it has taken me so long to talk to you since the tragedy struck. The King was a very close friend of mine and I needed time to grieve and collect myself." Medilan said.

"Lying git!" Drake said.

"You have heard reports that Prince Rofen was the perpetrator in this crime. We do not know that for sure, but he is a prime suspect. However, with the royal family either dead or unaccounted for, I have been asked to take charge of the kingly duties until a suitable replacement can be found. I hope that you can all understand the severity of the situation, and accept this as the status quo for the moment." Medilan said.

"I'm going in. Get ready guys." Gohan said, as he disappeared from sight.

"Good luck Daddy." Pan whispered.

"Of course, I will not be alone. My two soldiers, Dimethic and Mara, will be at my side. They'll make sure I don't misbehave." Medilan said, the crowd laughed.

"I don't see what's so funny; a man is dead because of you." Gohan said.

"What is the meaning of this?" Medilan realised he was in the spotlight, and couldn't do anything about Gohan himself. He signalled to the guards to come and take care of Gohan, but of course Gohan had a back up plan. Andrea had flung all the guards far away from Medilan. Dimethic and Mara were about to get up but Medilan signalled for them to sit. "Dimethic, just try and shut his mind down. We need to look like we don't resort to violence at the first sign of trouble."

"Yes sir." Dimethic said.

"Medilan Sterylin, your people have been deceived. They should know the truth. And so should you." Gohan said, clearing his throat. "Your right hand man Dimethic has the power of mind manipulation. He has been manipulating you into doing his bidding. That girl is not a Tocopheran solider called Mara. She is my wife, her name is Videl and he took her from me. I've been here trying to get back and fighting against you, believing that you were at fault. But it was really him."

"Do you honestly think that I would allow him to do that to me? That my mind is so feeble? You are talking nonsense!" Medilan said.

"He used the death of your father to make you hate me." Gohan said. "He used that anger to make you think you were doing what was best for your planet. He made you kill the King." Gasps and whispers could be heard throughout the crowd. "I was there. I saw the whole thing. I took the royal family into hiding until I could get to you to make you understand."

"Okay, what the hell is Gohan doing? None of that stuff is true!" David cried.

"Have a little faith. He knows what he's doing." Uubu said.

"This is all nonsense." Medilan said. "I demand that you leave immediately."

"Sir, if he believes this to be true. It will get you out of the clear!" Dimethic said.

"What?"

"Let me take the blame. I am willing to sacrifice that much for you." Dimethic said, as he walked towards Gohan. "You are right, Son Gohan. This was all my doing. I wanted to rule this world as I saw fit. Medilan was the perfect choice to use as a front man."

"Did he just call me a front man?" Medilan said, eyebrow twitching.

"Oh my, he's gonna crack." Mara said, looking very bored.

"I must admit, you had me stumped for quite a while." Gohan said. "Using this highly respected man was an excellent strategy. I also figured out why you took my wife, because she can freeze time. This way, you could just freeze Medilan any time he snapped out of your trance."

"Um. Yeah. Sure. That's exactly what happened." Dimethic said.

"Impressive." Gohan said. "But how long were you planning this? I mean, it must've been years and years of all your hard work! And to wait that long, most men would've given up!"

"Oh, I can't take this anymore." Medilan said, as he shot a blast at Dimethic and Gohan. "He's the genius! Don't be absurd. There's no way I'm gonna let this little sapling take all the credit for my work! NO WAY!" Everyone in the hall gasped.

"Ara, he snapped." Natalie said, looking through her fingers at what was going on.

"Ohhh, I get what's going on." Nicholas grinned. "Seinfeld, you magnificent bastard!" (3)

"Huh?" Goten asked.

"He knew Medilan had a big ego, and would never let Dimethic take the credit for all his hard work. It works to Gohan's advantage cos everyone on this planet is watching the broadcast." Andrea said.

"Oh." Goten said.

"I'm honestly very surprised that worked." Drake said.

"Dimethic!" Mara said, running over to him. Dimethic had not had enough time to prepare himself and took on Medilan's full attack. He had been gravely injured. She looked him over with concern. Gohan watched her angrily.

"Hey, Saiyan boy. Your fight is over here." Medilan said, throwing a blast at Gohan.

"Crap!" Gohan said, dodging it.

"Dimethic, please be okay." Mara said.

"I wish that concern in your eyes for me was real. It'd make dying easier." Dimethic said.

"What do you mean? My feelings are real."

"No, they're not. I made you into Mara. You are really Son Videl." Dimethic said. "It's time I let you go back to who you were." His eyes closed. He was dead. Mara clutched her head in pain and collapsed.

"Crap! Dave, grab Videl. Drake, cover him." Nicholas said. "Everybody, we've got to get this stadium cleared.

"Allow me." Zophen said. He closed his eyes, and created a gust of wind that carried everyone out safely.

"Ya know, that could've been mighty useful earlier." Nicholas said.

"Oh God…!" Mara said. David had brought her back to the group.

"Mama?" Pan asked, afraid to go near her. Tears started streaming down Mara's cheeks rapidly.

"Oh God…I remember! Everything I did to you! It was so horrible! I almost killed my baby! My husband! My friends and family!"

"She's back!" Natalie grinned. "GOHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN! VIDEL'S BACK!"

"WHAT!" Medilan cried.

"That's exactly the good news I was waiting to here." Gohan said, as he connected a hard left to Medilan's jaw. "Time to get down to business."

To Be Continued…

Yes, I know. Evil cliffhanger. The good news is the next chapter shouldn't be far behind! It should, hopefully, be the last chapter. Everything will be wrapped up and answered. Byee!

(1) A spoof on the Jedi mind trick. Yeah.

(2) I may have mentioned Nightwing before, but I don't think he's gotten a cultural reference stamp. Nightwing is a character from DC Comics. His name is Richard Grayson, but everyone calls him Dick. He was the first one to have the mantle of Robin, but left that mantle behind to become Nightwing. He has a HUGE fangirl following. He's like the bishi of the comic world, lol.

(3) This is one of the most famous quotes from the sitcom Seinfeld. I couldn't work out how to fit in "you stole my jesus fish" lol.


	18. The Next To Last One! Or Godzilla Videl!

**Rifts and Changes**

**Chapter Eighteen: The Next To Last One! Or Godzilla Videl!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their templates are people I know

A/N: It's the last chapter! El Finale! Or is that Le Finale? I dunno. Sadly (or considering the delays I've had writing this, thankfully) this is the last Gohan-Videl fanfic I will be writing. In fact, this is most probably my last ever DBZ fanfic. I love writing; it's a good outlet for me, seeing as my brain is usually elsewhere than Earth, hehe. I have, however, loved writing the characters I created to go with these stories. I may still write with them, but modified to be out of the DBZ zone. It's a big maybe. Anyhoo, enjoy the last one guys!

* * *

"I am in awe!" Zophen said, as he watched Gohan fight.

"So am I." David said. "I never knew Videl could cry like that."

"Miscreant!" Andrea shrieked. "Could you BE anymore insensitive?"

"Is that a challenge?" David asked.

"This is no time to be funny Dave, your wife's the one that kills with words remember?" Natalie said.

"Ohh yeah." David said. "Sorry honey."

"Videl?" Nicholas asked. Videl was in a state of shock. All she could do was cry. "Videl? Dude? Seriously, you're making me feel uncomfortable with all the weeping here."

"Because for once, it's not you?" David asked.

"Yes exactly." Nicholas replied.

"What are they doing?" Trunks asked, very annoyed.

"This is how they used to cheer up Videl when we were kids." Natalie said. "She used to cry like this a lot after her mum died. Dave and Nick have always been able to cheer her up."

"We don't need her to cheer up. We need her to function!" Trunks said. "Gohan's fighting for his life!"

"No, he's not. My brother's totally kicking that guy's ass." Goten said, grinning proudly. Trunks turned around to look at the fight and Gohan was indeed winning.

"Well, I'll be damned." Trunks said.

"So, what really happened to your father?" Gohan said, grabbing Medilan in a full nelson. Normally, this would have been near impossible to do. Of course, there were two factors to consider. One; Gohan was extremely angry. Two; Gohan's extremely strong when he's extremely angry.

"You…killed him…of course!" Medilan struggled to say as he tried to get out of Gohan's grip.

"That's what I thought." Gohan said. "But from everything I've come to know about you in this very short time, I doubt something like that would affect you so much. I think it was part of your plan."

"To kill my own father? I don't know how you do things on Earth, but around here we respect our parents."

"Maybe so. But if he was in the way of your dream, you'd kill him without second thought. Isn't that right?" Gohan asked, as he threw Medilan on the ground. He placed his foot on Medilan's chest and proceeded to interrogate him. "Tocopherans, for their merit, are very good fighters. At the time when your father came, my powers weren't at their best. He fell much too easily by my hands. For years, I blamed myself but it was really your fault, wasn't it?"

"Ahhh, so that's what's going on here." Yamcha said.

"This feels an awful lot like the last episode of an anime series, where one of the main characters is spouting out pure exposition about a dangling plot point." Nicholas said.

"Ssshh honey, you're gonna knock down the fourth wall." Natalie said.

"I'm gonna do what now?"

"Never mind. Just stand there and look handsome."

"Okay!"

"Yes, that is true Son Gohan." Medilan said. "When he went there, I sabotaged his breathing apparatus. I replaced it with a slow killing poison. So what? It looks like it's all for naught now. You've come to stop me, just like that blasted legacy said you would. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T TAKE YOU DOWN WITH ME!" Medilan started to power up a power blast. Once again, he had underestimated his opponent. Gohan used the old Kame-sennin technique of after imagery, and got behind Medilan to knock him out before he could blast anything.

"Now, we're done." Gohan said. He turned around to find his friends applauding in awe.

"That's our Gohan!" Trunks said.

"That was incredible." Zophen said.

"Eh. I thought it was too short." Natalie said.

"NATALIE!"

"What?"

"Videl!" Gohan exclaimed as he rushed to his wife's side. He cradled her in his arms as she wept. "Ssshh, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here now."

"I'm here too Mama." Pan said, embracing her parents.

"Zophen's not though." Trunks said, looking around for their Tocopheran friend. "There he is! He's getting up on the stage."

"Think he's gonna perform for our enjoyment?" David asked.

"Nah, he's too conservative to do that." Nicholas said.

"Maybe he's gonna strip?" Drake asked.

"Whoooo, take it off! Take it off!" The three boys started yelling, much to Zophen's dismay.

"Shut up!" Zophen yelled. He then realised that the entire planet was watching him on the cameras that had been left behind by the cameramen. The journalists, however, had managed to get back into the stadium. Zophen then began speaking in his native tongue.

"What is he doing?" Uubu asked.

"I presume he's telling everyone what happened." Andrea said.

"Think we can get a translator?" Trunks asked. Zophen proceeded to tell all of Tocopherat about the events that had happened. The reporters asked many questions but Zophen handled it with ease. The reporters then left the stadium, as the Royal Guard came in to clear the mess away and take Medilan into custody.

"I'm still having this nagging feeling that this is over too soon." Natalie sighed.

"You know, if you keep talking like that, stuff's gonna happen. Stuff's gonna happen, and then I'm gonna blame you." Trunks said very annoyed.

Videl had since stopped crying, and Gohan was having her looked at by one of the Tocopheran doctors. The others were also being treated for any injuries they had sustained. Zophen kept looking up at the bottom-East entrance of the stadium.

"Dude, you okay?" David asked.

"Yes. Excuse me, I must see to something." Zophen said, abruptly leaving.

"Oookay!" David said. "Hey nurse! Can I get a smiley Band-Aid?" David asked. Everyone looked at him with confused faces.

"Why on Earth would you want something like that?" Gohan asked.

"So I can make it talk."

"I still don't understand."

"The wound's on my arm, right? So I can flex the muscle…"

"Ha! Muscle?"

"Shut up Natalie! Anyhoo, I can flex the muscle WHICH ALL PEOPLE HAVE EVEN IF THEY ARE SKINNY and make it look like it's talking with silly voices. Like 'I pity the foo who makes fun of me!' and stuff like that."

"Who would find that funny?" Andrea asked.

"I was hoping you would." David frowned. Zophen continued to walk to the bottom-East entrance of the stadium, until he got to the tunnel.

"What are you doing here?" Zophen asked. He was talking to Thelia, Medilan's teleporter.

"I came to see you."

"You should not be here. You were working for Medilan. You are an accomplice to his crimes."

"I realise all that Zophen, but I came to see if that changed any of your feelings for me." Thelia sighed. Zophen took her hands in his.

"Nothing could." Zophen said. "Well, unless you became a man, that might complicate things and I may have to re-evaluate some stuff."

"What?"

"I'm sorry." Zophen said, laughing sheepishly. "I seem to have picked up on the Earthlings strange sense of humour."

"I think you like them more than you are willing to admit. I haven't seen you smile like that in a long time." Thelia said, smiling sadly.

"I have to ask Thelia. How much of Medilan's plan did you know about?"

"As much as the public did. He never let anyone know his full intentions except Dimethic. Look where that got him."

"You have to turn yourself in."

"I was planning to."

"…Really?"

"Yes." Thelia said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Like I said, I just wanted to see you." Thelia smiled and disappeared.

"She's very pretty." A voice said from behind Zophen, causing him to jump in shock.

"Miss Pan?" Zophen said. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry." Pan said. Zophen smiled sadly.

"She is very beautiful. She is also a very kind person."

"Does she make you happy?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"I hope you find that kind of happiness someday, Pan." They both smiled and headed back to the others.

_The next day…_

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T TURN US BACK TO NORMAL?" Andrea yelled, shaking Inerl to an inch of his life.

"If you just let me explain…!" Inerl said, turning blue.

"Honey, come on, you gotta stop this." David said, trying his hardest to pull his wife away from the mage. "Guys, a little help?"

"She's your wife, man." Goten, Yamcha, Trunks and Drake all said in unison.

"I've been told it is not wise to get in the middle of domestic disputes." Uubu said, smirking a little.

"You've got to turn us back Inerl!" Natalie cried. "I miss my boobs!"

"I miss her boobs!" Nicholas cried.

"Eww, guys!" Drake cried. "I'm still in the room!"

"Hey guys, Mom's awake! She's calmed down too!" Pan said. Andrea dropped Inerl and rushed to Videl's bedside.

"Nice one Pan-chan!" Trunks said, giving the thumbs up.

"What are you talking about?" Pan asked. "AND I TOLD YOU, DON'T CALL ME PAN-CHAN!"

"As I was saying before," Inerl said, straightening himself up "I cannot turn you back. The spell will wear off in due course. I did this, in case something happened to me, you would be able to turn back without a magical assist."

"Ahh." The effected people said.

"Anyway, now that Videl is awake, I'll have to get your things ready." Inerl said.

"I'll help you set up the spaceship." Trunks said, looking at the others, as if asking them mentally to come and help.

"It's your spacehip, man." The others replied. Trunks sweat-dropped and left with Inerl.

"How are you feeling?" Gohan asked Videl, as he handed her a glass of water.

"Stupid. Guilty. Horrible. I'd think of some more words, but I don't think they have thesauruses here." Videl sighed. Gohan ran his hand through her hair.

"It wasn't your fault." Gohan said.

"In a way, it was. Those feelings didn't come out of nowhere. They were in my subconscious." Videl said, her eyes filling with tears. "I feel so terrible."

"Everyone has their bad side." Gohan said. "That doesn't mean that's who we really are, or how we really feel. Look at Piccolo. He was supposed to be the pure evil side of Kami personified. He still turned out to be a good person. One of the best in fact!" Videl started to giggle. "What?"

"I can't believe you're comparing me to Piccolo." She giggled, playfully punching him in the arm.

"Mama!" Pan said, running in and embracing her mother.

"Pan-chan!" Videl smiled, as they both started to weep.

"Videl!" Andrea said, as she joined in on the hugging and the crying. Gohan stepped back and sweat-dropped.

"Now, now you guys!" Gohan said, laughing nervously. "We're all fine, everything's okay!"

_In the living room…_

"Are you sure it's okay to leave Gohan in there alone?" Goten asked.

"I ain't going in there with a bunch of crying girls." David said.

"Let them calm down first, then we'll go." Nicholas said. The others turned to look at Natalie.

"Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean I want to go in there and cry my eyes out." Natalie said, giving them all a killer look.

"Yes ma'am!" They all said, except Yamcha, who just looked embarrassed to be there. Goten started to grin stupidly.

"What are you grinning about?" Trunks asked.

"I get to see CJ!" Goten said, smiling even more.

"Oy."

_Later that day, in the Palace courtyard…_

"Gohan. I'm fine!" Videl insisted. The doctor had given Videl the all clear, but Gohan was still worried. The Prince had asked Gohan and the gang to stop by the Palace before they headed out for Earth, in order to thank them properly for all their efforts. Unfortunately, within the Palace, there was another problem.

"What do you mean Medilan has escaped from prison!" Zophen cried.

"We are very sorry sir, I just got news from there." The Chief of Royal Security said. "They were keeping him inside the room with the most security. Even this world's top fighters couldn't get out of there! We're certain that he's going to come here."

"We must warn them!" Zophen said, as he ran outside. Unfortunately, he was too late. Medilan was already standing in front of the gang.

"What the hell man?" Nicholas cried. "Gohan kicked your ass!"

"BE SILENT!" Medilan screamed. "I am not here just to get revenge on Gohan, but to get revenge on the remaining royal family!"

"Huh?" Everyone exclaimed.

"Revenge for what?" The Prince asked.

"For your father killing my mother!" Medilan said. As he got angrier, a dangerous aura formed around him. "She was from the planet Myristea. My father seduced her and left her while he was on tour with the Tocopheran army. She fell pregnant and had me. Not wanting her child to become fatherless, she stowed away to come and find him. Of course, people from Myristea are hated here and when she was found, your father executed her. This is why I wanted your monarchy to fall!" Medlian turned to Gohan angrily. "AND THEN YOU AND THAT DAMNED LEGEND!"

"Gohan, what are we gonna do?" Andrea asked.

"You've got to let me and Goten handle this, Gohan." Trunks said.

"What?" Gohan exclaimed.

"He's right, onii-chan. You can feel his chi. He's much more powerful than he was before." Goten said.

"Exactly. So why should he let you two deal with this?" Yamcha asked.

"Not the two of us, exactly." Trunks smirked, as he and Goten got into position.

"Why are they posing like that?" Drake asked.

"Oh man…" Pan said.

"Trunks! Goten! Stop!" Gohan cried. "You don't have your normal powers! We don't know how this will affect you!"

"Sorry Gohan, it's too late. We're already in motion!" Trunks said.

**FUSION-HAA!**

"Oh my goodness." Andrea said, as she looked at the new form of Goten and Trunks. Or more precisely, Gotenks!

"Dude. They suddenly got buff." Nicholas said in awe.

"I'm getting horrible flashbacks." Yamcha sighed.

"YES!" Gotenks screamed as he pumped his fist into the air. He pointed at Medilan. "YOU!"

"Me?" Medilan said.

"Yes! Your ass is toast dude." Gotenks said, as he began charging at Medilan. He sped by the others with such speed, that he created a big gust of wind that blew up Andrea's skirt. "Oooooh!" Gotenks said, as he stopped in his tracks to stare. Medilan used this opportunity to smack Gotenks across the face.

"Ah. This is what I was afraid of." Gohan said. "He was always a big show off. It's only natural that older Gotenks would be a pervert."

"Hey, shut up Gohan!" Gotenks said, pulling down his eyelid and sticking his tongue out at Gohan. He charged at Medilan again. Medilan began laughing hysterically at Gotenks. This only made him angrier, and he connected a deafening punch to Medilan's jaw.

"Owie." David said.

"Big owie." Nicholas agreed. Medilan fell to the floor and struggled to get up again.

"Did you really think you could win that easily!" Gotenks yelled, as he puffed out his chest and laughed.

"He sure is one for theatrics." Zophen sighed.

"And now, for the final punch!" Gotenks said, as he charged towards Medilan again. Medilan could barely stand but he managed to block Gotenks initial punch. Gotenks just smirked and pushed Medilan's face into the ground. He powered up a chi-blast. "MASENKO!"

"Hey! That's my attack!" Gohan cried. Everyone looked at Gohan surprised. "Yes, I know this is life and death, but that's mine!"

"Ooh, looks like Gohan never learned to share." Nicholas giggled.

"I DID IT!" Gotenks said, giving a V sign to the others, who promptly broke into applause. The police came to drag Medilan away.

"Hold it!" Natalie said, as she ran over to Medilan. She took out an injection and gave it to Medilan. The police looked at her shocked. "Oh don't worry, it's a tranquiliser. He'll stay asleep for the next few days." The police sweat-dropped and took him away.

"How long until he turns back to normal?" The Prince asked, looking worryingly at Gotenks, who was flexing his muscles.

"Usually, 30 minutes. But with his-um-their physiology so different now, I don't know." Gohan answered, as he bowed humbly. "I'm really sorry for his behaviour."

"It's perfectly fine." The Prince smiled.

"Of course, now that we have found the right heir to the throne, I must ask you Videl, do you want to rule this planet?" Inerl said.

"Yes, that's right." The Prince said.

"Um…" Videl said,

"Even though your husband is not a native, he and any members of your family are most welcome to stay with you!"

"Well…"

"Sweet!" David said. "Friends of royalty!"

"Hold on Dave." Videl said. She bowed to the Prince. "I'm very honoured that you would ask me, considering your position on the matter, but I don't think it'd be best. This is not my home. Earth is. And my family and friends are there. Besides, I have a lot of things to sort out when I get back. I can't hide from my problems."

"I was hoping you'd say that!" Princess 'Gina' said, grinning. Everyone laughed.

"I was hoping that also." A voice said appearing behind the Prince.

"Not now, Father." The Prince said. He realised what he had just said and who was behind him and became very frightened. He turned around and looked at the person standing behind him, it was indeed the King. "Father?"

"GHOST!" Natalie shrieked, as she hid behind Nicholas.

"I am not a ghost! I am the King!" The King said.

"Nuh uh! We saw you die!" Gotenks said.

"This is true!" Zophen exclaimed.

"You saw my double die." The King said.

"Huh?" Everyone exclaimed.

"About five years ago, I hired a stand-in." The King said, as if it was not a big deal. "I was worried that I'd be killed. At least this way, when the murderer was caught, I would be able to reveal myself and the monarchy would not be in jeopardy."

"WHAT ABOUT US?" The Prince yelled.

"I knew you'd be safe. The objective was me, remember?" The King said.

"That certainly explains why you were behaving so crudely Grandfather." Princess Gina smiled.

"The ship's ready guys. We should get going." Yamcha said, as the gate of the Palace was opened. "It's just a little over this way."

"I'll walk with you guys to see you off." Zophen said. Everyone proceeded to walk outside the gate.

"We should probably say our goodbyes here, Drake." The Princess said. "I doubt my father would allow me to accompany you to the ship."

"No sweat, Princess." Drake smiled. "Promise me one thing?"

"What's that?" The Princess asked.

"Try and lighten up a bit! Life's short!" Drake said.

"Actually, for Tocopherans, life is not…" The Princess tried to explain, but she was interrupted by Drake kissing her. Not just a normal peck either. A full-on, sweep her off her feet, movie style passionate kiss.

"Daaaamn!" David said.

"What? What's going on?" Pan asked. She couldn't see because Gohan was covering her eyes.

"Nothing you need to know about for another ten years." Gohan said, blushing. Uubu had covered his eyes as well, blushing in embarrassment.

"That's my boy!" Nicholas beamed.

"INSOLENT BRAT!" The King yelled.

"¿Que?" Drake asked, unsure of why everyone was so mad.

"In our culture, once you kiss someone, it is the equivalent of taking one's virginity." Zophen said, blue with fright.

"Crap." Natalie gulped.

"That's my boy!" Nicholas said, still beaming.

"It would be your kid." David said. "Gohan, I think we'd better…"

"Already way ahead of you, Finch!" Gohan was already running to the ship, with Videl in his arms and Pan running by his side.

"Crafty bastard!" David said, as the others quickly followed Gohan.

"SHUT THE GATE! WE MUST CAPTURE THE BRAT!" The King yelled.

"Sorry Your Majesty, not happening!" Nicholas said, quickly grabbing Drake and following the others.

"I'll never forget you, Drake!" The Princess cried.

"Ha! Hear that, Dad? I'm unforgettable." Drake smirked.

"You can be as arrogant as you like when we're home free and guards aren't chasing us." Nicholas panted. "Have you gained weight? You're heavier than I remember."

"You know, it's kind of ironic that this is how you leave the planet." Zophen chuckled.

"Why's that?" Andrea asked.

"The Prince told me that the story of why your ancestors were exiled from here in the first place. Everyone assumed it was because of their power, but it was because the Princess (Videl's ancestor) was kissed by another of the Exiles. Andrea's ancestor I believe. Once they got to Earth, I assume they didn't marry, seeing as you and Videl are not remotely related." Zophen explained.

"History really does repeat itself!" David said.

"Talking in clichés again, are we David?" Andrea smirked.

"Shut up!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"Quick, they're catching up, move it!" Videl yelled.

"Easy for you to say, you're being carried!" Natalie said. Everyone managed to get on the ship, and waved goodbye to Zophen (except Yamcha, who was driving).

"How long until we land?" Nicholas asked.

"WE JUST TOOK OFF!" Everyone except Natalie (who was holding Nicholas to calm him down) yelled.

"Alright, geez." Nicholas sighed. "Hey Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"When you said, 'it would be your kid', what did you mean by that?" Nicholas asked.

"Like father, like son. Stealing the purity of an innocent girl." David said, half laughing.

"I'm beginning to get really uncomfortable here." Drake said.

"You mean Natalie?" Gohan asked. A boot promptly connected with his face. "Sorry."

"Damn straight." Natalie said.

"Besides, I love Nat. It's not like it's a big deal. We were old enough as well."

"Yeah, but you weren't married when she was pregnant."

"WHAT?" Drake exclaimed. "You told me that…" Drake was cut off before he could say anymore, by his still teenage father covering his mouth.

"That's right little dude, you were born out of wedlock. That's the story exactly." Nicholas laughed nervously.

"Nicholas!" Natalie hissed as everyone looked at them. "They're both hysterical. They haven't had enough sugar."

"What does he mean by story?" David asked.

"Nothing!" Natalie insisted.

"Nick's a terrible liar. He'll crack in no time." Andrea smirked.

"Guys, can you keep it down? I'm trying to drive here." Yamcha said, very annoyed.

"Nick…" David said.

"ALRIGHT FINE, WE HAD A SECRET WEDDING BEFORE THE ONE YOU GUYS WENT TO!" Nicholas cried. Literally.

"What?" Gohan asked, confused.

"What!" David asked, enraged.

"Oy." Natalie said. "Here come the worms."

"Why did you have a secret wedding?" Videl asked.

"Well, there were two reasons. One, we really wanted to…you know. And my dad was adamant that I'd be married first. Two, at the time that we wanted to other stuff was going on and we didn't want to steal the thunder of a certain person." Natalie said, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"Certain person?" Videl asked.

"You." Nicholas replied.

"Idiot!" Natalie said, hitting him the ribs.

"What?" Videl cried.

"V, since we've been kids, you've always had a thing about people taking away important life events from you." Natalie sighed. "When we were gonna announce our engagement at that dinner, you found out you were pregnant. We were afraid that you'd go all Godzilla on us for upstaging your special time. So we got married in secret, with my dad and brothers and Nick's parents as the guests."

"Yeah, but then Nat got pregnant so we had to hide that and the marriage from you guys until Pan was born." Nicholas explained.

"By which time, I was already four months gone." Natalie sighed. "Which was why we were pretending to be mad at each other back then."

"So I wasn't born out of wedlock?" Drake asked.

"No, honey."

"I can't believe you guys did that for me!" Videl said.

"Well, it was more out of my fear of Godzilla Videl." Nicholas said.

"Seriously. He kept screaming in his sleep IT'S GODZILLA!" Natalie sighed.

"Does that mean the bouquet I caught doesn't count?" Gotenks asked (well, the Goten side of him anyway). "Cos that totally explains why me and Paresu didn't work out."

"Dude, don't go blaming that on us. It'll bring bad karma!" Nicholas exclaimed.

To be concluded…

Don't get mad! It's only the epilogue AND it's already been written! The next chapter should be up tomorrow or the day after. I just split them to give you guys a bit of a break. Tomorrow or the day after, I promise!


	19. Epilogue

**Rifts and Changes**

**Epilogue**

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their templates are people I know.

* * *

_Hours later…_

"What the #$& happened here?" Gotenks exclaimed. In the front yard of the Capsule Corp, most of the adults had passed out, the kids were running around rampant and Remy, CJ and Marron looked exhausted.

"Everyone had a party." Remy said lifelessly.

"The bad guys are over there." Marron said, pointing to a cage with Anithius and Hamelis both inside. They were also wearing party hats.

"Yeah, Inerl said he's gonna cast a spell to take those guys as soon as we land." Gohan said.

"You guys had a party without us?" Yamcha said, slightly disappointed.

"CJ, are you alright?" Gotenks asked, walking over to her.

"Shut up, I'm sleeping." CJ said. She opened her eyes and looked at Gotenks. "Who the heck are you?"

"Mommy! Daddy!" The younger kids yelled, as they ran to their parents.

"You look funny, Dad." The twins said to David.

"Yeah, well." David said, sweat-dropping.

"I'm Gotenks!" Gotenks said, once again flexing his muscles.

"Is this a dream? Or did someone slip me something?" CJ asked, backing slowly away.

"CJ, this is Trunks and Goten. Fused together." Marron explained, still tired.

"Why would they want to do that?" CJ asked. "It sounds gross."

"AH!" Gotenks screamed. "I AM TORN BETWEEN THE TWO WOMEN IN MY LIFE!"

"That would be Goten screaming." CJ said, nodding. "Always torn between a numerous amount of women."

"HEY!" Gotenks cried.

"And that would be Trunks, annoyed that I implied that he got no action before he was married." CJ said, nodding thoughtfully.

"How do you have enough energy left to mock?" Remy asked.

"I always have energy for that." CJ replied.

"We'd better get everyone into bed, they look exhausted." Andrea said, starting to clean up the mess with her telekinesis.

"Who's this guy?" Nicholas asked, pointing to Alex.

"He looks government." David replied. "We should chuck him out."

"Nah, let's leave it til morning."

_Next day…_

"My boys! I'm so glad you're safe!" Chi-Chi said, as she wept and hugged her sons. Everyone else had done the greeting, crying thing all morning, but it was 6pm and Chi-Chi was still going. Most of the Z-Senshi had returned to their homes, only the Sons, the Briefs were left and the friends of Gohan, Trunks and Goten remained. Natalie had administered the cure that Inerl gave her to Goku and Vegeta, which meant that they were back to normal. Which also mean that Vegeta was back to his normal arrogant self.

"Now that everyone's rested and returned safely…" Alex began to say.

"Not all of us have returned safely." CJ said, pointing to the still fused Gotenks.

"It's unbelievable that they're still fused." Goku said, staring in awe.

"I told them not to do it." Gohan said, munching on some food. "Who knows what those chemicals did to their systems? Not to mention their chi. They got ridiculously powerful when they were fighting Medilan. That shouldn't have been able to happen."

"Well, he's got some Saiyan prince blood in him." Vegeta said.

"You can't use that as an explanation to everything, Vegeta." Bulma said.

"Of course not. Only the amazing things that happen to my family."

"Well, I can't give them the cure until they un-fuse." Natalie said.

"AHEM!" Alex said, clearing his throat. "Like I was saying, Videl is in a lot of trouble."

"Fudge cookies, I forgot all about that." Gohan said, starting to sweat nervously.

"Forgot about what?" Videl asked.

"Um…you know that scary broadcast you made to us?"

"Yeah…"

"Somehow, Ashley Bennington got a hold of it and broadcasted it to the world."

"WHAT?"

"Videl calm down!"

"How can I be calm?" Videl cried.

"Um…Gohan-san?" CJ said. "I already took care of that."

"Huh?" Everyone said.

"Well, while you were all sleeping, I talked to some people I know and stuff. We got Videl's father to make a statement that she was working undercover to get the aliens to leave us alone. Also, that the explosion was staged etc, etc. Everyone bought it." CJ explained. "Your dad sold the 'my daughter is getting into the world saving business' angle of the story."

"Story?" Alex asked.

"Yes, story." CJ replied. "Unless you wanna explain to everyone how she was mind controlled. That excuse has been used in every form of sci-fi literature I can think of. No one would believe it."

"I'm not sure I believe it." Alex said.

"Well, you'd better or you're gonna get this." CJ said, shaking her fist at Alex. Everyone in the room sweat-dropped.

"That's certainly a weight off my shoulders." Gohan sighed.

"Wait, if you already did that, why didn't you tell anyone?" Remy asked.

"If I did, then Alex would've left sooner. I was doing you a favour." CJ replied.

"STOP THAT!"

"What? Doing you favours?"

"NO! YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" Remy said, blushing furiously.

"Anyways!" Natalie interrupted. "I think Trunks and Goten are finally starting to separate." Sure enough, the fusion was wearing off and in no time, the boys were back to their regular selves.

"Trunks!" Marron said, giving her husband a hug.

"Hey." Goten said shyly to CJ.

"Hey yourself." She replied.

"Awwwwww!" Everyone said.

"SHUT IT!" CJ said.

"Yes ma'am."

"Eugh, I don't feel so good." Goten said, keeling over.

"Goten!" Chi-Chi and CJ exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Mrs Son, he'll be fine." Natalie smiled. "He's just tired from everything that's happened."

"YAY!" David screamed. "I'm back to my normal self!" Indeed, the teens had been turned back into their proper ages.

"Yay!" Nicholas said, hugging Natalie.

"Dude, reposition your head. Could you be anymore obvious?" Natalie said. Nicholas's head was currently on her chest.

"But I missed them!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"We'd better get going." Remy said, signalling to CJ.

"I'm gonna stay with Goten." CJ replied.

"I'll give you a ride back." Alex said, suddenly appearing behind Remy.

"But I only live down the…"

"Come on." Alex said, pushing her playfully out of the door.

"I'll get you for this, CJ!" Remy yelled.

"Hah, the amount of times I've heard that remarked yelled at me before." CJ smirked. Everyone around her sweat-dropped.

"Come on Dave. Now that you've got your big muscles back, you're going to help carry Goten to the Sons car." Andrea said. "And then you're gonna help me and Nat get the kids ready."

"But…!"

"Now!"

"Yes ma'am."

"Hahaha, he's so whipped." Nicholas laughed.

"What was that?" Natalie said, pulling his ear.

"I love you, honey." Nicholas grinned. Natalie blushed slightly and let go of his ear. "YES! You think I'm cute again!"

"I do not."

"Yes you do."

"Oh Nick? I didn't get the chance to tell you with all the commotion…I'm pregnant. Again."

"What?"

"WHAT?" Everyone yelled.

"Don't you guys ever rest?" Gohan asked, and then covered his mouth in embarrassment. "Sorry. Brain and mouth forgot to conference before letting that out."

"Nick?" Natalie said, waving her hand in front of his face. "Uh oh, he's gone. He does that every time."

"Can you get him out of it?" Bulma asked, as she watched all the younger kids run around Nicholas and poke him repeatedly.

"Yes." Natalie said. "Stacy Keibler!"

"LEGS!" Nicholas cried as he snapped out of it, dropping half the kids in the process.

_Elsewhere…_

"Hey Drake, we're getting ready to go!" Claudia said, going into the garden.

"Hey." Drake said. "We staying at yours?"

"Yeah, for now." Claudia replied. "What's wrong with Pan?"

"She's bummed about Zophen. He had a girlfriend."

"Ah."

"And he's about as old as her dad."

"Ouch."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Pan said. She was only a few feet away from them.

"Yes. We were hoping to get you mad enough so that you'd talk to us." Drake said. Pan narrowed her eyes angrily. "Mate, you're only 15. You'll find someone else."

"He's right."

"Besides, you got good genes. Your mom is hot."

"Drake!"

"Is that your attempt at making me feel better?" Pan asked.

"It's the best you're gonna get. Especially after you yelled at me." Drake replied.

"Well, you deserved it. Stealing that poor girl's chastity." Pan smirked.

"Well, it would be you, wouldn't it?" Claudia said.

"Not you too!"

_Later…_

"Hnnn, where am I?" Goten mumbled. "Mmm, I smell something good."

"I would take that as a compliment, but seeing as it's you, you're probably talking about your mother's cooking."

"CJ?"

"In the flesh."

"I'm glad you're here." Goten said, taking her and kissing it. "What happened to me?"

"Drained chi or something. Natalie gave you the vaccine and you should be back to normal. Blonde transformations and everything." CJ smiled.

"Where's everyone else?" Goten asked.

"We're at your house now. Your parents thought it'd be best if we took you home."

"Did I miss anything?" Goten asked, sitting up in his bed.

"Nothing much." CJ smiled. She stroked Goten's hair. "I'm glad all this is over. Maybe we can finally have a proper first date now."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." CJ said.

"Hey, can I call you my girlfriend?" Goten asked.

"I don't know how I feel about that." CJ replied. Goten slumped.

"Oh."

"I mean, I haven't been a girl for years. We're a bit too grown up for that. I suppose lover would make you embarrassed." CJ said, laughing on the inside as she teased Goten.

"N-no it wouldn't."

"You're blushing right now!"

"No, I'm not!" Goten said, covering his face with his blanket. CJ laughed. "Ooh, I made you laugh. Success!"

"Shut up!" CJ said, still giggling.

"You got a cute laugh."

"Hey, don't try and turn this around! I'm the one teasing here!"

"Sorry." Goten smiled. "You know what? I'm kinda sad that our first kiss wasn't more romantic."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I always wished that our first kiss would be after our first date. Not on your birthday, with teenage hormones running rampant." Goten sighed. CJ chuckled.

"You're such a romantic. Although Goten, that wasn't our first kiss."

"It wasn't?"

"Nope."

"When was it?"

"Well, if you don't remember, I'm not going to tell you." CJ said. "Although, if you don't remember, it's probably my fault. I did knock you out after."

"NANI?"

"Don't strain yourself! Get back into bed!"

"Not until you tell me!"

"You'll have to remember by yourself!"

"…"

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm trying to remember if you're ticklish."

"WHAT?"

"Come here!"

"Hahahahaa! No, stop!"

"Tell me!"

_In the living room…_

"It's been a while since we've had this much noise in the house." Chi-Chi said, snuggling up to Goku on the sofa.

"Yeah."

"It's nice."

"Yeah."

"Goku, are you even listening to me?" Chi-Chi asked. She followed Goku's eye-line and realised he was staring at the chicken in the kitchen. "_Sigh._"

The End.

FINALLLY! Good sweet me, this was long in coming huh? (3 years, I'M SO SORRY!) I'm honestly so sorry that it has taken me so long to update this story. I really wanted it to be good, and not rushed. I don't know if it turned out good, that'll be up to you guys. Now, I know what I said about this being my last story, but seeing as I've kept you guys waiting for so long, I'll let you decide. As far as the timeline goes for these characters, this is the last stop. However, if you want me to continue, let me know, and I'll do an "untold tales" kind of series. They'll all be one shot chapters (no cliffhangers, yay!) and they'll be set between my first story and my last. I was also thinking of doing some stories of when Videl and the gang were young (pre-Gohan sadly) so let me know!

Thanks, and bye!


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